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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is exiting the governing body at the ChatGPT creator, just days after a batch of emails between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became public.

Summers commented in a statement that he was "thankful for the chance to have contributed, excited about the prospects of the organization, and eagerly await observing their development".

The prominent academic, who formerly presided over the prestigious university, declared on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public roles due to his association with the convicted sex offender.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed messages revealed that the economist exchanged messages with the financier until the eve of Epstein's 2019 apprehension for suspected sex trafficking of underage individuals.

In a separate statement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it accepted his determination to depart.

"We value his significant contributions and the viewpoint he offered to the directors," OpenAI remarked.

Legislative Background

This development follows after the two houses of the US legislature voted on this week to endorse a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to release its records on Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill will subsequently proceed to the administration of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. Trump has stated he plans to approve the bill, after modifying his position on the matter following pushback from his followers.

Email Contents

A group of Epstein-connected emails disclosed by the Congressional committee recently mentioned numerous well-known personalities in the financier's former circle, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The messages revealed that Summers and the financier dined together frequently, with the billionaire often attempting to connect the official to notable international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were shared with the general audience, Summers said he assumed "complete accountability for my poor judgment to maintain corresponding with the financier".

He further stated that he hoped "to reestablish trust and fix bonds with the persons closest to me".

Career Background

The economist held high-level positions under party leaders; acting as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as director of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a faculty member there. When declaring his step-down from public duties earlier on this week, he said he would persist with his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following his statement on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal policy institute in DC where the professor was a senior fellow, confirmed that Summers was ceased to be connected with the group.

He joined the board of the technology firm, which creates ChatGPT, in last year - following a failed attempt to replace its CEO OpenAI's head.