🔗 Share this article Harvard ex-president Summers Steps Down from AI Company's Directors Summers announced he would step back from public duties after House committee made public his regular communications with Epstein Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is departing from the directorate at the ChatGPT creator, just days after a series of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal the accused trafficker became publicly available. The economist stated in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have participated, excited about the promise of the enterprise, and look forward tracking their development". The prominent academic, who previously led the prestigious university, declared on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public roles due to his association with the convicted sex offender. Message Exchange The newly public messages demonstrated that the official exchanged messages with Epstein until the eve of the financier's 2019 detention for suspected sex trafficking of young people. In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company expressed it understood the economist's determination to resign. "We value his significant contributions and the insight he brought to the governing body," OpenAI commented. Political Context This development arrives after both chambers of the legislative branch agreed on Tuesday to approve a legislation that would mandate the federal prosecutors to make public its documents on the case. The legislation will subsequently proceed to the desk of the White House for endorsement. He has said he intends to sign the bill, after modifying his view on the issue following objections from his supporters. Message Details A group of Epstein-related correspondence disclosed by the House Oversight Committee days ago included multiple prominent individuals in the Epstein's previous network, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals. The messages revealed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein dined together frequently, with the billionaire often trying to link Summers to prominent international personalities. Individual Statement After the correspondence were released with the general audience, the former official stated he accepted "complete accountability for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein". He added that he hoped "to rebuild trust and fix relationships with the individuals most important to me". Previous Positions The economist served in senior posts under Democratic administrations; functioning as economic leader under President Clinton, and as head of the White House economic team under Barack Obama. He headed Harvard from the early 2000s and is still a professor there. When stating his withdrawal from public roles previously on Monday, he stated he would persist with his teaching commitments. Further Repercussions Following his statement on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal policy institute in the capital where Summers was a prominent member, confirmed that he was no longer connected with the institution. Summers joined the board of OpenAI, which creates the AI chatbot, in last year - following a failed attempt to oust its CEO Sam Altman.