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How Shivon Zilis Operated as Elon Musk's OpenAI Insider
As the first week of trial in Musk v. Altman comes to a close, one person has emerged as a critical behind-the-scenes manager of communications and egos in OpenAI’s early years: Shivon Zilis.A longtime employee of Musk and the mother to four of his children, Zilis joined OpenAI as an adviser in 2016. She later served as a director of its nonprofit board from 2020 until 2023 and has worked as an executive at Musk’s other companies, Neuralink and Tesla.When asked about the nature of his relationship with Zilis in court, Musk offered several answers. At one point, he called her a “chief of staff.” Later, a “close adviser.” At another point, he said “we live together, and she’s the mother of four of my children,” though Zilis said in a deposition that Musk is more of a regular guest and maintains his own residence. Last September, Zilis told OpenAI’s attorneys that she became romantic with Musk around 2016 after she had become an informal adviser to OpenAI. They had their first two children in 2021, she said.But OpenAI’s lawyers have made the case in witness testimonies and evidence that her most important role, as it pertains to this lawsuit, is being a covert liaison between OpenAI and Musk, even years after he left the nonprofit’s board in February 2018.“Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated,” Zilis wrote in a text message to Musk on February 16, 2018, days before OpenAI announced he was leaving the board. Musk responded, “Close and friendly, but we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More than that will join over time, but we won’t actively recruit them.”When asked about this exchange on the witness stand, Musk said he “wanted to know what’s going on.”In the same text thread, Musk wrote, “There is little chance of OpenAI being a serious force if I focus on Tesla AI.” Zilis reaffirmed him, saying: “There is very low probability of a good future if someone doesn’t slow Demis down,” referring to Demis Hassabis, the leader of Google DeepMind, who Musk has said he didn’t trust to control a superintelligent AI system. “You don’t realize how much you have an ability to influence him directly or otherwise slow him down. I think you know I’m not a malicious person, but in this case it feels fundamentally irresponsible to not find a way to slow or alter his path.”Roughly two mo...
How Shivon Zilis acted as an insider of Elon Musk's OpenAI
First trial week in Musk v. Altman comes to an end, one person has emerged as a critical, behind-the-scenes communications and ego manager in OpenAI’s early years: Shivon Zilis. Zilis, a longtime Musk employee and mother of his four children, joined OpenAI as an advisor in 2016. She later served as a board director of the nonprofit organization from 2020 to 2023, and has also served as a director at Musk’s other companies, Neuralink and Tesla. Asked in court about the nature of his relationship with Zilis, Musk gave several answers. At one point he called her his “chief of staff.” Later “close advisor”. At another point he said: “We live together and she is the mother of my four children” – although Zilis he said in his testimony that Musk is rather a regular guest and has his own residence. Last September, Zilis told OpenAI lawyers that she fell in love with Musk around 2016, when she became an informal adviser to OpenAI. In 2021, their first two children were born, she said. However, OpenAI’s lawyers have shown in witness statements and evidence that its most crucial role in relation to this lawsuit is the secret collaboration between OpenAI and Musk, even years after he left the nonprofit’s board in February 2018. “Would you rather I stay close and friendly with OpenAI to keep information flowing, or start disconnecting? The trust game is about to get difficult, so any guidance on how to do the right thing will be valuable to us,” Zilis wrote in text message to Musk on February 16, 2018, a few days before OpenAI announced he was leaving the management board. Musk replied: “Close and friendly, but we will actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More will join over time, but we will not actively recruit them.” Asked about the exchange on the witness stand, Musk said he “wants to know what’s going on.” In the same thread, Musk wrote: “There is a slim chance that OpenAI will become a serious force if I focus on Tesla’s AI.” Zilis confirmed this, saying: “There is a very low probability of a good future unless someone slows down Demis,” referring to Demis Hassabis, the leader of Google DeepMind, whom Musk has stated he does not trust to control the superintelligent artificial intelligence system. “You don’t realize how much you can directly influence him or otherwise slow him down. I think you know I’m not a malicious person, but in this case I think it’s fundamentally irresponsible not to find a way to slow him down or change his pat...
Shivon Zilis emerges as Musk's covert OpenAI liaison in week one of trial
Shivon Zilis, the longtime Musk lieutenant and mother of four of his children, surfaced this week as the central back channel between Elon Musk and OpenAI during the years he publicly broke from the company.
How Shivon Zilis Operated as Elon Musks OpenAI Insider
**Trial testimony has brought to light the intricate involvement of Shivon Zilis, a prominent figure in the artificial intelligence landscape and mother to four of Elon Musk's children, in the formative stages of OpenAI.
