OpenAI Names Members to Its Nonprofit Commission 

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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OpenAI Names Members to Its Nonprofit Commission 

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

ChatGPT maker OpenAI named members to its newly formed nonprofit commission on Tuesday, which will guide the company's philanthropic efforts.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI in December outlined a plan to revamp its corporate structure, saying it would create a public benefit corporation to manage its growing business and ease the restrictions imposed by its existing nonprofit parent.

OpenAI, which last month said it would raise up to $40 billion in a new funding round valuing the company at $300 billion, named Daniel Zingale, who has held senior leadership roles across California, as the commission's convener.

Dolores Huerta, Monica Lozano, Robert Ross and Jack Oliver, all of whom have prior experience with community-based organizations, have been appointed as advisors to the new commission, formed earlier this month.

"The advisors will receive learnings and input from the community on how OpenAI's philanthropy can address long-term systemic issues, while also considering both the promise and risks of AI," OpenAI said in a blog post.

They will advise OpenAI's board on directing community engagement processes, drawing insights from people and organizations involved in health, science, education, and public services. The commission is expected to submit its findings to the board within 90 days.

Last year, Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, sued the AI startup and its CEO, Sam Altman. Musk accused OpenAI of straying from its original mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity and focusing on corporate profits instead.

A dozen former-OpenAI employees last week filed a legal brief backing Musk's lawsuit.

OpenAI countersued Musk last week, citing a pattern of harassment by him, and asking a federal judge to stop him from any "further unlawful and unfair action" against OpenAI in a court case over the future structure of the firm that helped launch the AI revolution.



ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
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ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance.

The new shopping capability further blurs the line between AI chatbots and search engines, signaling OpenAI's ambition to compete with Google in a market the latter has controlled for decades.

"Search has become one of our most popular and fastest growing features, with over 1 billion web searches just in the past week," the San Francisco-based company said in a post on X.

Rolled out on Monday, the update allows shoppers to find and compare items through natural conversation, then connect directly to merchants for purchases.

"Instead of scrolling through pages of results, you can simply start a conversation," OpenAI's post said, adding that users could also ask follow-up questions or compare products.

ChatGPT's shopping feature initially focuses on fashion, beauty, and home electronics categories. Product recommendations are personalized and come from the web, not advertisements, OpenAI said.

To counter increasing competition from AI chatbots, Google has integrated its own Gemini assistant into search results, providing AI-generated answers above traditional website links.

The rivalry intensified last week when an OpenAI executive testified the company would consider purchasing Chrome if Google were forced to sell the browser as part of an ongoing US antitrust case.