đź”— Share this article Former Treasury Secretary Summers Steps Down from ChatGPT Maker's Leadership The economist declared he would withdraw from public duties after legislative body released his regular messages with Jeffrey Epstein Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is departing from the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just days after a collection of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became public. He remarked in a statement that he was "grateful for the opportunity to have contributed, excited about the prospects of the enterprise, and anticipate following their progress". The former Harvard president, who formerly headed the prestigious university, stated on recently that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his relationship with Epstein. Digital Correspondence The newly public messages showed that Summers communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before the financier's 2019 apprehension for suspected human trafficking of young people. In a separate statement, the AI firm said it understood Summers' determination to step down. "We appreciate his numerous inputs and the insight he brought to the governing body," the organization stated. Legislative Background This news follows after both chambers of the legislative branch agreed on recently to endorse a legislation that would mandate the federal prosecutors to make public its records on Jeffrey Epstein. The legislation will afterward move to the office of the White House for endorsement. The President has indicated he intends to endorse the legislation, after reversing his position on the matter following pressure from his supporters. Message Details A collection of financier-linked emails disclosed by the House Oversight Committee recently mentioned numerous high-profile figures in the financier's former circle, without implying any illegal behavior by those individuals. The communications indicated that the economist and Jeffrey Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often attempting to link the academic to notable international personalities. Individual Statement After the correspondence were made available with the wider community, the former official said he accepted "complete accountability for my misguided judgment to continue communicating with Jeffrey Epstein". He added that he hoped "to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the individuals most important to me". Career Background The economist occupied high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; acting as Treasury chief under President Clinton, and as director of the economic advisory body under President Obama. He headed the institution from 2001 to 2006 and remains a academic there. When declaring his withdrawal from public roles previously on Monday, he stated he would maintain his teaching commitments. Other Impacts Following Summers' announcement on Monday, the policy organization, a left-leaning policy institute in DC where he was a researcher, announced that Summers was ceased to be affiliated with the institution. The former official joined the leadership of OpenAI, which creates ChatGPT, in 2023 - following a failed attempt to remove its top executive OpenAI's head.