OpenAI board member Larry Summers steps down amid Epstein file revelations (techcrunch.com)

Former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers has resigned from OpenAI’s board after Congress released a tranche of emails between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that included advice about pursuing an intimate relationship with a mentee. The messages, exchanged between November 2018 and July 2019, show Summers acknowledging a power imbalance and discussing tactics Epstein encouraged to pressure the woman; Epstein had earlier called himself Summers’s “wing man.” The release prompted Summers to step back from public commitments and prompted Harvard to open its own inquiry. For the AI community, the episode matters less for technical content than for governance, trust and public policy: OpenAI loses a high-profile board member at a time when scrutiny of AI companies and their leadership is intensifying. The controversy highlights how governance lapses or reputational risks among board members can affect stakeholder confidence, regulatory relationships, and internal oversight of strategy and safety decisions. Expect renewed attention to board vetting, conflict-of-interest policies and transparency at AI organizations as lawmakers and partners assess who shapes influential AI research and deployment decisions.