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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is leaving the board at OpenAI, just several days after a series of digital correspondence between him and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

He commented in an announcement that he was "appreciative for the opportunity to have contributed, enthusiastic about the promise of the company, and eagerly await following their development".

The prominent academic, who once headed Harvard University, stated on recently that he would be withdrawing from public commitments due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Email Communications

The newly public emails demonstrated that the official communicated with the financier until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 arrest for alleged human trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the artificial intelligence company said it understood the economist's determination to step down.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the viewpoint he provided to the Board," OpenAI commented.

Political Context

This news comes after both chambers of Congress agreed on recently to endorse a measure that would require the US justice department to release its documents on the case.

The legislation will then proceed to the office of US President Donald Trump for signature. The President has said he plans to approve the legislation, after changing his position on the issue following pressure from his followers.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-related emails made public by the legislative panel recently included numerous prominent individuals in the financier's past associates, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals.

The emails showed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein often met for meals, with the billionaire often attempting to connect the academic to prominent international personalities.

Individual Statement

After the emails were released with the public, the former official said he took "total ownership for my misguided judgment to continue interacting with the financier".

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

Previous Positions

The professor occupied high-level positions under two Democratic presidents; functioning as economic leader under the former president, and as head of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama.

He led the institution from the early 2000s and continues to be a academic there. When stating his departure from public duties previously on this week, he stated he would continue his academic responsibilities.

Other Impacts

Following his declaration on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank in the capital where he was a prominent member, announced that Summers was not associated with the organization.

Summers joined the directorate of the AI company, which develops the language model, in 2023 - following a failed attempt to replace its chief executive the company leader.