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Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers is leaving the governing body at the artificial intelligence firm, just days after a collection of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public.

The economist commented in a release that he was "grateful for the chance to have served, enthusiastic about the potential of the organization, and look forward observing their development".

The former Harvard president, who previously presided over the prestigious university, stated on recently that he would be scaling back from public responsibilities due to his connections with Epstein.

Digital Correspondence

The recently released emails showed that Summers exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 detention for alleged trafficking of minors.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company said it understood the economist's choice to step down.

"We appreciate his many contributions and the insight he offered to the governing body," OpenAI remarked.

Political Context

This development comes after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on this week to pass a measure that would mandate the Department of Justice to disclose its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill will then head to the administration of the White House for signature. He has stated he plans to approve the measure, after changing his view on the subject following pressure from his followers.

Email Contents

A batch of Epstein-related emails made public by the legislative panel days ago mentioned numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's past associates, without indicating any legal wrongdoing by those individuals.

The messages revealed that the economist and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with the billionaire often attempting to connect the official to influential world leaders.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were shared with the general audience, he stated he assumed "full responsibility for my misguided decision to maintain communicating with the financier".

He added that he desired "to restore confidence and fix relationships with the people nearest to me".

Previous Positions

Summers held high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; functioning as treasury secretary under President Clinton, and as leader of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.

He headed the institution from 2001 to 2006 and remains a professor there. When announcing his withdrawal from public duties previously on this week, he said he would continue his educational duties.

Additional Consequences

Following the economist's statement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in DC where the professor was a prominent member, confirmed that Summers was ceased to be affiliated with the institution.

Summers joined the directorate of the AI company, which creates ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a defeated move to replace its CEO Sam Altman.