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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is exiting the directorate at the ChatGPT creator, just several days after a collection of emails between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

The economist stated in a statement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have served, optimistic about the potential of the organization, and eagerly await observing their advancement".

Summers, who formerly headed the Ivy League institution, stated on Monday that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his connections with Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The recently released emails revealed that the official communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding his 2019 arrest for alleged human trafficking of underage individuals.

In another announcement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it understood Summers' determination to resign.

"We value his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the directors," OpenAI commented.

Legislative Background

This news arrives after the entire Congress of the US legislature agreed on this week to endorse a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to make public its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will subsequently proceed to the administration of President Trump for approval. Trump has stated he plans to approve the measure, after modifying his position on the subject following objections from his supporters.

Email Contents

A collection of Epstein-related correspondence released by the House Oversight Committee recently referenced multiple high-profile figures in the Epstein's former circle, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The communications indicated that the professor and Jeffrey Epstein dined together frequently, with the billionaire often seeking to link the official to notable global figures.

Personal Response

After the correspondence were made available with the public, the former official said he accepted "complete accountability for my ill-advised judgment to maintain corresponding with Jeffrey Epstein".

He further stated that he wanted "to reestablish trust and mend relationships with the individuals closest to me".

Previous Positions

The professor served in high-level positions under party leaders; serving as economic leader under President Clinton, and as head of the economic advisory body under President Obama.

He led the university from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a faculty member there. When stating his withdrawal from public roles previously on this week, he stated he would persist with his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' statement on Monday, the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization in Washington where Summers was a researcher, announced that the economist was ceased to be connected with the organization.

The former official joined the directorate of OpenAI, which develops ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a failed attempt to remove its top executive OpenAI's head.