🔗 Share this article Larry Summers Resigns from OpenAI Board The economist stated he would withdraw from public duties after House committee made public his frequent correspondence with Epstein One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is leaving the directorate at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a series of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became publicly available. He remarked in an announcement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have contributed, optimistic about the potential of the company, and eagerly await following their advancement". The former Harvard president, who formerly presided over the Ivy League institution, declared on recently that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his association with Epstein. Email Communications The freshly disclosed messages showed that Summers exchanged messages with the financier until the day before his 2019 apprehension for alleged trafficking of underage individuals. In a separate statement, the technology organization expressed it respected his choice to step down. "We acknowledge his significant contributions and the viewpoint he provided to the governing body," the organization commented. Congressional Action This development follows after both chambers of Congress decided on this week to pass a measure that would mandate the US justice department to release its documents on Jeffrey Epstein. The legislation will subsequently move to the desk of US President Donald Trump for approval. The President has indicated he intends to sign the bill, after modifying his view on the matter following pushback from his base. Email Contents A group of Epstein-connected correspondence released by the legislative panel last week included multiple well-known personalities in the financier's previous network, without indicating any legal wrongdoing by those people. The emails revealed that Summers and the financier regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often trying to connect the academic to prominent world leaders. Personal Response After the emails were shared with the public, he expressed he assumed "complete accountability for my ill-advised judgment to persist in communicating with Jeffrey Epstein". He continued that he wanted "to reestablish faith and mend connections with the persons most important to me". Professional History The professor occupied senior posts under Democratic administrations; acting as economic leader under President Clinton, and as head of the National Economic Council under the former leader. He presided over Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a academic there. When announcing his step-down from public duties recently on Monday, he indicated he would continue his academic responsibilities. Other Impacts Following his declaration on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal research organization in Washington where the professor was a prominent member, confirmed that he was ceased to be associated with the institution. Summers joined the leadership of OpenAI, which creates the AI chatbot, in the previous year - following a failed attempt to oust its top executive Sam Altman.