Summers: Epstein Connection Too Stupid to Work in Artificial Intelligence — But Not Harvard?

Yes. Yes, this sounds about right. When someone asks a convicted sex trafficker of underage girls to advise him on how to manipulate a much younger protege into a sexual relationship, every single part of that sequence argues against intelligence … artificial or otherwise. 

At least former Democrat presidential adviser and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is smart enough to recognize that, albeit belatedly. Although one does have to wonder whether Summers recognized it, or whether the board of OpenAI had to explain it to him:

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is resigning from OpenAI’s board of directors, the ChatGPT maker and his office said Wednesday.

His departure comes after the release of emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein long after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008.

“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision,” the board said in a statement.

Summers had already announced that he was “stepping back from public commitments” on Monday. He didn’t mention anything about his commercial commitments, however, until after OpenAI announced his purported resignation. Summers issued a statement immediately afterward:

“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a separate statement issued by his spokesperson, Kelly Friendly.

The word “also” strongly suggests that this departure had not been a part of Summers’ original “stepping back” plan. If so, then that would also suggest that Summers may have come under pressure the last two days to resign. For instance, despite his claim to be stepping back from “public commitments,” Summers has announced that he will continue teaching economics at Harvard, which drew sharp criticism from at least one fellow Democrat and colleague:

Summers said Monday he would be stepping back from public commitments after receiving criticism for the email exchanges. He said he would “fulfill his teaching obligations” as a Harvard professor. 

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said on Monday. He said stepping back from public commitments was “one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”

Earlier Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Summers shouldn’t be trusted to teach classes at the university or advise the government, saying the economist displayed “monumentally bad judgement” in his correspondence with Epstein.

This is the rare moment in which I agree with Elizabeth Warren, at least regarding his access to students at Harvard. The issue isn’t just that Summers kept up correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein for years after his conviction related to sex-trafficking underage girls, although that was bad enough. It’s that Summers sought advice from a sex offender on how to manipulate a much younger woman in his academic orbit into a sexual relationship. Once again, here’s the Harvard Crimson report on communication between Summers and Epstein:

When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he sought guidance from a longtime associate: convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein.

In a sequence of texts and emails between November 2018 and July 5, 2019, Summers turned to Epstein for advice on his pursuit of the woman. Epstein was quick to chime in with assurance and suggestions, describing himself in one November 2018 message as Summers’ “wing man.” …

The final tranche of messages, beginning in mid-June, shows the relationship still unresolved and Summers again turning to Epstein for guidance on how to pursue it. Summers asked Epstein whether it was “meaningful” to discuss the probability of “my getting horizontal w peril,” drawing parallels to forecasting Trump’s reelection.

“U r better at understanding Chinese women than at probability theory,” Summers told Epstein. The two men bantered about probability and mathematics, but repeatedly steered the conversation back to Summers’ relationship.

Gross. Even beyond the issue of Summers’ continued relationship with Epstein – which is catastrophically bad enough – what does this say about Summers and his access to young women that come into his orbit? The question isn’t whether Summers should “fulfill his teaching obligations” for the rest of the year. It’s whether Harvard needs its collective mind examined for allowing Summers access to more “mentees” for him to use as a personal Tinder collection. 

Of course, Harvard needs its collective mind examined for many reasons, and its predilection for collectivist thought is among those, to be sure. 

Summers needs to retire in disgrace at 71, not just “step back” from public life. “Step back” implies an interregnum where permanence should follow these revelations. And the same can be said for Stacey Plaskett, about whom Beege will have more later. 

Note: I hate the word “mentee” with the fire of a thousand suns. The proper term is protege, or if you prefer, protégé. 

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media isn’t interested in the facts; they’re only interested in attacking the president. Help us continue to get to the bottom of stories like the Jeffrey Epstein files by supporting our truth-seeking journalism today. 

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