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One-time economic leader the Harvard professor is leaving the directorate at OpenAI, just days after a batch of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender the accused trafficker became public.

He stated in a statement that he was "thankful for the opportunity to have participated, enthusiastic about the potential of the company, and eagerly await following their development".

Summers, who previously headed Harvard University, stated on Monday that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The freshly disclosed messages showed that the economist corresponded with Epstein until the eve of Epstein's 2019 detention for alleged trafficking of young people.

In another announcement, the AI firm stated it accepted Summers' choice to depart.

"We value his significant contributions and the insight he brought to the Board," OpenAI remarked.

Legislative Background

This development arrives after the two houses of the US legislature agreed on this week to approve a legislation that would require the US justice department to release its files on Epstein.

The legislation will subsequently move to the desk of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. He has stated he expects to approve the bill, after changing his view on the matter following pushback from his base.

Email Contents

A batch of financier-linked emails released by the Congressional committee last week mentioned numerous prominent individuals in the billionaire's past associates, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those figures.

The communications revealed that the professor and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with he often attempting to connect the official to influential world leaders.

Individual Statement

After the messages were made available with the general audience, he expressed he accepted "full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with the financier".

He further stated that he wanted "to reestablish faith and mend relationships with the people nearest to me".

Professional History

The economist served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; acting as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He headed the university from the early 2000s and continues to be a professor there. When stating his withdrawal from public duties previously on Monday, he said he would persist with his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following the economist's announcement on earlier this week, the Washington think tank, a left-leaning research organization in Washington where the professor was a researcher, verified that the economist was no longer connected with the organization.

He became part of the board of the AI company, which creates the language model, in last year - following a defeated move to oust its chief executive Sam Altman.