Apple seeks to pause OpenAI physical device push after 'shocking evidence' in trade secret trial

OpenAI and Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) legal battle in federal court escalated to a new level after the iPhone maker presented forensic data that OpenAI hardware had already started to run on trade secrets that its former employees were never authorized to share.

The “shocking evidence” pulled from a former engineer’s work laptop comes ahead of an October 1 court showdown and throws a wrench in Sam Altman and OpenAI’s push to enter the physical devices business.

Does Apple have evidence that OpenAI stole trade secrets?

Apple lawyers have told the court that they found dozens of confidential files, including a circuit schematic for a power converter on the work-issued MacBook that belongs to Chang Liu, a senior system electrical engineer who moved on to OpenAI in January.

Apple said that Liu did not just access those files, but he actually used it in simulations at his OpenAI role, according to the supplemental brief its lawyers filed in the Northern District of California.

Beyond the schematics, Apple lawyers also said they found evidence that Liu used a tool with a name identical to one of his former employer’s internal engineering programs. The lawyers warned that any AI agent that “learn[s]” can use that material to potentially create harm that is hard to reverse and keeps spreading.

… Continue reading the full article at the original source below.