Topline
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from the board of OpenAI, a day after the former labor secretary said he will step back from public commitments after documents released by the House Oversight Committee revealed email interactions he had with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Larry Summers announced he was stepping down from his public roles on Monday night.
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Key Facts
Summers told multiple outlets: “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
In response, OpenAI said it respected Summers’ decision to step down and it appreciated Summers’ “many contributions.”
At the time of publishing, Summers’ name still appeared on OpenAI’s “Our Structure” page under the “Our Board” heading.
On Monday, Summers issued a statement saying he was “deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused…I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”
The former treasury secretary said he will be “stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
However, Summers said he will continue to fulfill his “teaching obligations.”
Where Else Did Summers Step Down From?
While making the announcement on Monday, Summers did not specify what roles he will be stepping down from. The New York Times reported that Summers was leaving his advisory board position at the Yale Budget Lab, a policy research center at Yale University and also ending his fellowship at the Center for American Progress. Both the Yale Budget Lab and the Center for American Progress websites had scrubbed Summers’ profile page after his announced, with the latter displaying a message which read: “Lawrence H. Summers is no longer with the Center for American Progress.” Summers also served as a contributor on New York Times’ opinion page, the newspaper said on Tuesday that it does not intend to renew Summers’ one year contract, which began in January.