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One-time economic leader Lawrence Summers is departing from the board at the ChatGPT creator, just days after a series of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

The economist commented in a release that he was "thankful for the privilege to have served, excited about the potential of the enterprise, and look forward observing their development".

The prominent academic, who once presided over Harvard University, declared on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public commitments due to his association with the convicted sex offender.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed emails showed that the economist exchanged messages with the financier until the 24 hours preceding his 2019 arrest for suspected human trafficking of underage individuals.

In additional comments, the AI firm expressed it respected the economist's choice to resign.

"We value his significant contributions and the perspective he provided to the directors," OpenAI commented.

Legislative Background

This development comes after the two houses of Congress decided on recently to approve a measure that would require the Department of Justice to make public its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will then proceed to the desk of US President Donald Trump for approval. The President has indicated he intends to sign the measure, after reversing his stance on the subject following objections from his base.

Email Contents

A group of Epstein-related messages made public by the legislative panel recently referenced several well-known personalities in the billionaire's former circle, without indicating any illegal behavior by those figures.

The messages showed that Summers and the financier often met for meals, with Epstein often seeking to link Summers to notable international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the messages were shared with the general audience, he stated he took "full responsibility for my misguided choice to maintain interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".

He added that he hoped "to reestablish confidence and fix relationships with the people most important to me".

Professional History

The economist held leadership roles under Democratic administrations; acting as economic leader under the former president, and as director of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He led the university from five years and is still a academic there. When declaring his step-down from public duties earlier on this week, he stated he would persist with his teaching commitments.

Other Impacts

Following the economist's declaration on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute in the capital where he was a prominent member, confirmed that the economist was no longer affiliated with the group.

The former official joined the leadership of OpenAI, which makes the AI chatbot, in the previous year - following a unsuccessful effort to oust its chief executive the company leader.