{"id":22292,"date":"2026-05-05T12:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/the-download-musk-openai-altman-trial-ai-democracy\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:41:12","slug":"the-download-musk-openai-altman-trial-ai-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/the-download-musk-openai-altman-trial-ai-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: inside the Musk v. Altman trial, and AI for democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is today\u2019s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em><\/a>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what\u2019s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Week one of the Musk v. Altman trial: what it was like in the room<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Two of the most powerful figures in AI\u2014Sam Altman and Elon Musk\u2014are in the middle of a landmark legal showdown, with Musk alleging he was misled about OpenAI becoming a for-profit company.<\/p>\n

Our reporter Michelle Kim, who also happens to be a lawyer, has been in court each day, and has broken down the first week\u2019s key moments in her latest report<\/a>. In a new Q&A, she also reveals what it was like in the room, the new details that have emerged about how Musk and OpenAI operate\u2014and what we can expect from this week\u2019s proceedings.<\/p>\n

Find out what she\u2019s discovered so far<\/a>, and if you want to keep up with MIT Technology Review\u2019s ongoing coverage of the Musk v. Altman trial, follow @techreview<\/a> or @michelletomkim<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n

\u2014James O\u2019Donnell<\/em><\/p>\n

This <\/strong>story<\/strong><\/a> is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. <\/strong>Sign up<\/strong><\/a> to receive it in your inbox every Monday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A blueprint for using AI to strengthen democracy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u2014Andrew Sorota & Josh Hendler<\/em> lead work on AI and democracy at the Office of Eric Schmidt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Faster than many realize, AI is becoming the primary interface through which we form beliefs and participate in democratic self-governance. This shift could further strain already fragile institutions, but it could also help address problems like polarization and declining civic engagement.<\/p>\n

What happens next depends on design choices that are already being made, whether we know it or not. Here\u2019s how we can harness AI to strengthen democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Artificial scientists: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Large language models can already assist scientists in all sorts of ways, from writing code to searching through literature and drafting articles. But companies and labs have a much more ambitious vision. They want to build AI systems that can act as a full member of a scientific team\u2014and even conduct entire research projects.<\/p>\n

These artificial scientists seem like a win for frontier labs and for society at large. But they could also narrow the scope of scientific inquiry.<\/p>\n

Read the full story on how artificial scientists could reshape the research process\u2014and what might be lost along the way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Grace Huckins<\/em><\/p>\n

Artificial scientists is an item on our list of the <\/strong>10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now<\/strong><\/a>, MIT Technology Review\u2019s guide to what\u2019s really worth your attention in the busy, buzzy world of AI. We\u2019re unpacking one item from the list each day here in The Download, so stay tuned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1<\/strong> The Pentagon has struck sweeping AI deals for classified work
<\/strong>It\u2019s signed contracts with Microsoft, Nvidia, AWS, and Reflection AI. (NYT<\/a> $)
+ It wants the US military to be an \u201cAI-first\u201d force. <\/em>(BBC<\/a>)
+ The announcement leaves Anthropic increasingly isolated. <\/em>(WP<\/a> $)
+ Here\u2019s how the firms could train on classified data. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2<\/strong> Elon Musk has finally settled the SEC lawsuit over the Twitter purchase
<\/strong>He\u2019s agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine for waiting too long to disclose his initial stock purchases. (Guardian<\/a>)
+ But won\u2019t lose any of the $150 million he allegedly saved.<\/em> (The Verge<\/a>)
+ Musk allegedly illegally hid his growing Twitter stake. <\/em>(CBS News<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 A Chinese court has ruled that firms can\u2019t lay off workers on AI grounds
<\/strong>They can\u2019t terminate employees just to replace them with AI. (Bloomberg<\/a> $)
+ The court said a firm had illegally fired one of its workers. <\/em>(NPR<\/a>)
+ Chinese tech workers are starting to train their AI doubles\u2014and pushing back. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4<\/strong> A gene therapy is helping deaf children hear again
<\/strong>In a trial, 80% of patients gained measurable hearing. (Vox<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5 The White House is vetting AI models before they\u2019re released
<\/strong>It may create a new working group to oversee AI development. (NYT<\/a> $)
+ A war over AI regulation is coming to the US.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6<\/strong> Nature has retracted a paper on ChatGPT\u2019s educational benefits
<\/strong>Over \u201cdiscrepancies\u201d and a lack of confidence in the findings. (404 Media<\/a>)
+ The paper had already racked up hundreds of citations. <\/em>(Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ AI giants want to take over the classroom. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7<\/strong> GameStop made a $56 billion bid for eBay
<\/strong>eBay said it was reviewing the offer. (Ars Technica<\/a>)
+ The bid has drawn skepticism from investors and analysts.<\/em> (Reuters<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

8<\/strong> AI systems are increasingly used to monitor workers\u2019 emotions
<\/strong>New tools claim to measure \u201cagreeability\u201d as well as productivity. (The Atlantic<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9<\/strong> Peter Thiel is backing wave-powered data centers
<\/strong>He\u2019s leading a $140 million investment into a startup developing the tech. (FT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10<\/strong> Ask Jeeves is shutting down after nearly 30 years online
<\/strong>The closure marks the end of one of the internet\u2019s earliest search engines. (NYT<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u2014Elon Musk texted\u00a0a warning to OpenAI president Greg Brockman two days before their courtroom battle started, NBC News reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One More Thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
SIMON MITCHELL<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


<\/strong>Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Two hundred and thirty meters into one of the deepest underwater caves on Earth, a team of extreme divers tested a route to new depth records: breathing hydrogen.<\/p>\n

They believe the gas could help the human body withstand underwater pressure significantly past its natural threshold. But the approach is highly experimental\u2014and dangerous.<\/p>\n

Find out how far they\u2019re willing to go<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Samantha Schuyler<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ Wild horses are roaming in Spain<\/a> for the first time in 10,000 years.
+ Star Wars<\/em> meets the Renaissance in this bardcore cover<\/a> of the \u201cImperial March.\u201d
+ Improve your writing by avoiding these six common linguistic pitfalls<\/a> shared by many Americans.
+ From Stephen King\u2019s IT<\/em> changing the clown industry to Black Widow<\/em> boosting hair dye sales, here are 12 times movies changed the real world<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today\u2019s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}