--- title: "OpenAI Implores Judge Not to Expose Communications by Its Top Researchers" description: "OpenAI is asking a judge to narrow the scope of discovery in a copyright lawsuit to limit insider communications from being aired in public. " date: "2024-11-15" modified: "2024-11-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-guild-lawsuit-communications" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "copyright" - "ilya sutskever" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # OpenAI Implores Judge Not to Expose Communications by Its Top Researchers ![OpenAI is asking a judge to narrow the scope of discovery in a copyright lawsuit to limit insider communications from being aired in public. ]() *\Image: Justin Sullivan via Getty\* ## Don't Speak In one of the [many copyright lawsuits]() it's facing, OpenAI is asking a judge to narrow the scope of discovery to limit insider communications from being aired in public. This latest forte in [OpenAI's defense against the Authors Guild](), which is alleging on behalf of [writers including George R.R. Martin and John Grisham]() that the company used its members' copyrighted works without permission to train its AI models, shows that the firm *really* doesn't want its top researchers' documents making the rounds. The Guild recently requested that OpenAI submit extensive documents — [including text messages and social media DMs]() — not only for the 24 initial "custodians" or insiders who are thought to have relevant pre-trial discovery information, but for eight additional figures as well, including OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever and researcher [Jan Lieke](), both of whom [left OpenAI this year](). ## Leaky Ship While this counter-suit doesn't seem to be specifically about inside baseball at OpenAI, recent news involving Sutskever highlights why the company may not want its former and current executives' communications leaked. Earlier this week, the [sidelined cofounder told *Reuters*]() that the abilities of OpenAI's advanced large language models (LLMs) [seem to be plateauing]() as the company seeks more and more training data and computing resources. Sutskever was, notably, the [leading proponent]() of the briefly successful attempt to [oust CEO Sam Altman last Thanksgiving](), and spent half a year [in limbo]() before ultimately [leaving the firm]() and [starting his own venture]() pursuing safe artificial general intelligence (AGI). Should his texts and DMs come out, even if just regarding copyrighted work, there could be some very embarrassing details in there — which could be at least part of why OpenAI is trying to make sure they never see the light of day. **More on OpenAI:** [*OpenAI Buys Porn Domain for Huge Sum*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()