Unfortunately, in the Musk v. Altman case, jurors didn’t get to see the trophy themselves. Before the jurors arrived, Sam Altman’s team brought in what seemed like a little league trophy from afar. However, it was revealed to be an award with the inscription: “Never stop being a jackass.” This was a tribute OpenAI employees bought for research scientist Josh Achiam, who testified the previous day.
In the trial about nonprofit contract law, this incident came up because, when Elon Musk was leaving OpenAI, he allegedly expressed intentions of racing ahead of Google. Achiam, who focused on AI safety, questioned if this was wise. Musk reportedly called him a jackass, an altercation Musk now denies he remembers exactly but said he might have remarked, “Don’t be a jackass.”
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that jurors would only hear about the trophy, not see it, unless Musk’s team provided a reason to present it as evidence. You can now view it for yourself.
Correction, May 14th: The researcher is Josh Achiam, not Ackiam.