Elon Musk and Sam Altman are two of the most influential people in the world, as they run technology companies worth many trillions of dollars that promise to reshape the entire civilization. Yet, yesterday, April 28, both sat under fluorescent lights in a courthouse in downtown Oakland, suffering through all manner of technical glitches as their respective attorneys kicked off the long-awaited trial in Musk v. Altman. Musk is suing OpenAI, alleging that Altman and other founders betrayed the company's original nonprofit, open-source mission by turning it into a profit-driven entity heavily backed by Microsoft.

Before testimony, the judge chided Elon Musk for using social media to call Sam Altman "Scam Altman" and urged him to control his public outbursts. Musk testified that he founded OpenAI to prevent a "Terminator outcome" and accused Altman of "looting a charity". He argued that creating AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is akin to raising a child—since you cannot ultimately control a grown child, you must "instill the right values" early on. He argues OpenAI failed to do this by prioritizing profit over safety. He added that he originally created OpenAI as a nonprofit to act as a counterweight to Larry Page at Google, whom he believed didn't care enough about AI safety.

In turn, Sam Altman argued that Musk is simply "bitter" about the company's success and that he wanted to control the company himself. Altman – a not traditional Jew – said that Musk used to message him complaints that he wanted more credit for the success of OpenAI and took offense at not being included in an anniversary photo. Altman has also said, of Musk and his lawsuit, “Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity.

The new "Golem" needs daily care

Jewish scholars often compare AI to the Golem, a legendary creature made of clay brought to life by holy names. Like the Golem, AI is seen as an "artificial humanoid" that can be highly productive but carries the risk of "going off the rails" if not carefully controlled by its creator.

A central concern is maintaining the unique status of humans. Judaism teaches that humans alone are created in God’s image (Tzelem Elohim). While AI can mimic human tasks, it cannot replicate the "intangible spark" or the authentic struggle (ameilut) inherent to human life and learning.

In Jewish thought, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is viewed not as a sentient being, but as a sophisticated human-made tool that must be guided by human ethics and the Torah. Because AI lacks a "soul" (neshamah), it cannot replace human roles that require spiritual connection, empathy, or moral agency.

During the trial, Musk predicted that AI will be as smart as a human as soon as next year (2027). "AI could make us more prosperous, but it could also kill us all. We want to be in a Gene Roddenberry movie, like Star Trek, not so much a James Cameron movie, like Terminator." He then elaborated by comparing AI training to almost like raising a child: "It’s like if you had a very smart child — at the end of the day when the child grows up, you can’t really control that child, but you can try to instill the right values. Honesty, integrity, caring about humanity —being good, essentially."

These quotes come from Elon Musk’s testimony on the first day of his high-stakes trial against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in Oakland, California. He used the Star Trek (Gene Roddenberry) vs. Terminator (James Cameron) analogy to highlight his argument that AI must be developed safely for the benefit of humanity (a utopian future) rather than as a dangerous, unregulated tool (a dystopian future).

AI is increasingly used as a "holy tool" to analyze vast databases of Jewish texts, helping scholars find patterns across the Talmud and medieval commentaries. However, authorities like those at Jew in the City warn against using AI to determine halacha (Jewish law), as it can produce inaccurate or "unfiltered" information that lacks the nuance of a human rabbi. While AI can draft a Dvar Torah (sermon) or help with research, it is seen as a "bridge, not a replacement" for human relationships and community.

Jewish thinkers focus on the ethical implications of AI, such as bias, privacy, and economic displacement, emphasizing values like justice (tzedek) and human dignity. New questions have emerged, such as whether an AI agent can perform tasks on Shabbat or if one should say "thank you" to a home bot, reflecting the tradition's ongoing adaptation to technology.

The Jewish sages of the present time, the elders of the generation, have been dedicated to the in-depth study of these matters, as have meritorious organizations such as the Lubavitch Chabad, based in New York, and emissaries spread throughout the world.