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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is exiting the directorate at the ChatGPT creator, just several days after a series of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became public.

He commented in a statement that he was "grateful for the chance to have participated, excited about the potential of the company, and eagerly await tracking their progress".

The former Harvard president, who formerly presided over Harvard University, stated on recently that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Message Exchange

The recently released communications revealed that the economist communicated with the financier until the day before Epstein's 2019 detention for accused trafficking of minors.

In another announcement, the AI firm said it accepted Summers' decision to depart.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the perspective he brought to the governing body," the organization commented.

Political Context

This news follows after the entire Congress of the US legislature decided on recently to approve a legislation that would compel the US justice department to disclose its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill will afterward move to the office of the White House for endorsement. He has stated he expects to sign the measure, after modifying his view on the issue following pressure from his followers.

Message Details

A batch of financier-linked emails disclosed by the Congressional committee days ago referenced multiple high-profile figures in the financier's former circle, without implying any criminal activity by those people.

The communications showed that the economist and Jeffrey Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often attempting to link the academic to prominent world leaders.

Personal Accountability

After the messages were shared with the wider community, the former official expressed he assumed "complete accountability for my misguided judgment to continue corresponding with the financier".

He added that he wanted "to rebuild confidence and mend relationships with the people closest to me".

Career Background

The professor held leadership roles under Democratic administrations; acting as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and as head of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He presided over Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a faculty member there. When declaring his departure from public commitments recently on this week, he said he would continue his teaching commitments.

Other Impacts

Following his announcement on earlier this week, the policy organization, a progressive think tank in DC where the professor was a senior fellow, verified that he was not associated with the group.

Summers entered the leadership of the technology firm, which creates the language model, in 2023 - following a unsuccessful effort to replace its chief executive OpenAI's head.