🔗 Share this article

Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is departing from the governing body at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a batch of emails between him and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein became public.

The economist stated in an announcement that he was "appreciative for the chance to have served, enthusiastic about the prospects of the enterprise, and eagerly await following their advancement".

The prominent academic, who once presided over the prestigious university, stated on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his association with the convicted sex offender.

Email Communications

The newly public emails showed that the economist communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 detention for suspected sex trafficking of young people.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company stated it accepted the economist's decision to resign.

"We appreciate his significant contributions and the perspective he offered to the directors," OpenAI stated.

Congressional Action

This development comes after the two houses of the legislative branch voted on this week to endorse a bill that would require the Department of Justice to make public its records on Epstein.

The legislation will afterward move to the office of the White House for endorsement. Trump has indicated he intends to endorse the legislation, after reversing his stance on the subject following objections from his followers.

Email Contents

A batch of Epstein-related emails released by the Congressional committee days ago referenced numerous well-known personalities in the financier's previous network, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The emails showed that the economist and the financier regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often attempting to link Summers to notable international personalities.

Personal Response

After the messages were made available with the wider community, he said he assumed "complete accountability for my misguided choice to persist in corresponding with Jeffrey Epstein".

He further stated that he desired "to rebuild trust and mend relationships with the individuals most important to me".

Professional History

The economist occupied senior posts under Democratic administrations; functioning as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and as leader of the economic advisory body under Barack Obama.

He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and is still a professor there. When declaring his withdrawal from public commitments recently on Monday, he indicated he would maintain his educational duties.

Other Impacts

Following the economist's declaration on earlier this week, the policy organization, a progressive think tank in DC where Summers was a senior fellow, confirmed that Summers was not affiliated with the group.

Summers became part of the leadership of the AI company, which creates ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a unsuccessful effort to remove its top executive Sam Altman.