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Former US treasury secretary the Harvard professor is exiting the board at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of electronic messages between him and notorious criminal the disgraced billionaire became publicly available.

The economist remarked in a statement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have contributed, optimistic about the promise of the organization, and look forward following their development".

The former Harvard president, who previously presided over the prestigious university, declared on recently that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his connections with the convicted sex offender.

Digital Correspondence

The newly public emails demonstrated that Summers communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the eve of the financier's 2019 detention for suspected human trafficking of young people.

In another announcement, the AI firm stated it respected Summers' determination to resign.

"We acknowledge his significant contributions and the perspective he provided to the directors," OpenAI stated.

Congressional Action

This development follows after the two houses of the legislative branch agreed on this week to endorse a legislation that would require the Department of Justice to disclose its records on the case.

The measure will afterward move to the office of President Trump for approval. Trump has stated he expects to approve the legislation, after reversing his view on the issue following pushback from his supporters.

Correspondence Findings

A group of Epstein-related correspondence released by the Congressional committee last week referenced numerous well-known personalities in the financier's former circle, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those figures.

The communications indicated that the economist and Epstein dined together frequently, with he often attempting to introduce Summers to notable world leaders.

Personal Accountability

After the emails were shared with the wider community, Summers expressed he assumed "complete accountability for my misguided judgment to persist in interacting with Mr Epstein".

He further stated that he wanted "to reestablish trust and fix relationships with the persons most important to me".

Career Background

Summers served in leadership roles under Democratic administrations; acting as Treasury chief under President Clinton, and as leader of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He presided over Harvard from 2001 to 2006 and is still a professor there. When stating his withdrawal from public roles earlier on this week, he indicated he would continue his teaching commitments.

Additional Consequences

Following the economist's statement on Monday, the policy organization, a liberal think tank in DC where Summers was a prominent member, verified that he was not affiliated with the institution.

He entered the board of the AI company, which makes the AI chatbot, in last year - following a failed attempt to oust its chief executive the company leader.