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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is exiting the directorate at OpenAI, just several days after a batch of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

He stated in a release that he was "grateful for the privilege to have contributed, excited about the prospects of the enterprise, and eagerly await observing their advancement".

The former Harvard president, who previously led the prestigious university, declared on earlier this week that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Message Exchange

The recently released communications showed that the official exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 arrest for alleged trafficking of young people.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company expressed it accepted Summers' determination to step down.

"We appreciate his numerous inputs and the insight he brought to the directors," OpenAI commented.

Congressional Action

This announcement follows after the entire Congress of Congress agreed on recently to approve a bill that would compel the federal prosecutors to release its records on the case.

The bill will then proceed to the desk of US President Donald Trump for approval. Trump has indicated he plans to sign the measure, after modifying his stance on the matter following pushback from his followers.

Email Contents

A collection of Epstein-connected correspondence made public by the legislative panel days ago included numerous prominent individuals in the financier's former circle, without indicating any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The emails revealed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein often met for meals, with he often seeking to connect Summers to influential global figures.

Personal Response

After the messages were shared with the general audience, he said he accepted "total ownership for my misguided judgment to persist in corresponding with the financier".

He further stated that he wanted "to restore confidence and fix relationships with the people nearest to me".

Previous Positions

The professor held leadership roles under party leaders; functioning as Treasury chief under the former president, and as director of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.

He led Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and continues to be a academic there. When announcing his step-down from public duties previously on this week, he said he would continue his teaching commitments.

Further Repercussions

Following Summers' announcement on earlier this week, the policy organization, a liberal think tank in Washington where Summers was a senior fellow, announced that he was ceased to be connected with the institution.

Summers joined the directorate of OpenAI, which makes the language model, in last year - following a failed attempt to replace its CEO Sam Altman.