OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar Calls Trump The 'President Of This AI Generation,' Downplays Elon Musk Concerns: 'We Trust Him… As A Competitor'

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has characterized President-elect Donald Trump as the “president of this AI generation,” while downplaying public threats from Elon Musk.

What Happened: During an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Tuesday, Friar highlighted that Trump is taking office during a pivotal moment in the development of critical infrastructure for advancing artificial general intelligence.

She also addressed concerns about Musk, a close adviser to Trump, stating, “We trust him…as a competitor,” and expressed confidence that the Tesla CEO would prioritize national interests.

See Also: Trump Announces Plans To Have Dinner With Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos As Billionaire Rivals Turn Unexpected Allies After Years Of Clashes

Friar, who joined OpenAI six months ago, also spoke about the demand for their new video generation tool, Sora. Account creation for Sora has been paused to ensure a measured release.

Why It Matters: Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has been critical of its corporate restructuring. The tech mogul now leads xAI, a competitor to ChatGPT-parent.

Trump has also appointed Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut federal spending by up to $2 trillion.

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Earlier, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also expressed confidence in Musk’s integrity despite his political ties. “I may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing.”

Earlier this month, Musk filed a court injunction to block OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit organization. This legal action comes after Musk previously sued OpenAI, alleging that the company was placing commercial interests above its initial mission.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly strengthening its partnership with Microsoft Corporation. Previously it was reported that OpenAI’s board is considering removing a provision that currently limits Microsoft’s access to its AGI technology.

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Photo by Stephen McCarthy/MoneyConf via Sportsfile via Flickr Creative commons; OpenAI, Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.