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Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is exiting the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just days after a collection of digital correspondence between him and deceased financier the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

He commented in a release that he was "grateful for the privilege to have contributed, enthusiastic about the prospects of the organization, and eagerly await following their progress".

The former Harvard president, who once presided over Harvard University, announced on earlier this week that he would be withdrawing from public commitments due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Message Exchange

The recently released emails revealed that the economist communicated with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before Epstein's 2019 apprehension for alleged trafficking of young people.

In a separate statement, the AI firm expressed it understood Summers' determination to resign.

"We acknowledge his numerous inputs and the insight he provided to the governing body," OpenAI commented.

Congressional Action

This announcement follows after both chambers of the legislative branch decided on Tuesday to pass a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to make public its documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The legislation will then head to the office of US President Donald Trump for endorsement. The President has stated he plans to approve the measure, after modifying his view on the subject following objections from his base.

Correspondence Findings

A collection of financier-linked messages disclosed by the Congressional committee recently included several high-profile figures in the financier's previous network, without indicating any criminal activity by those figures.

The emails revealed that Summers and Jeffrey Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often trying to link the official to notable international personalities.

Personal Accountability

After the messages were released with the public, the former official said he assumed "total ownership for my ill-advised judgment to maintain communicating with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he desired "to rebuild trust and fix connections with the individuals closest to me".

Previous Positions

The economist served in high-level positions under Democratic administrations; functioning as economic leader under Bill Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under President Obama.

He headed the university from five years and continues to be a academic there. When stating his withdrawal from public roles previously on this week, he said he would persist with his educational duties.

Other Impacts

Following his statement on earlier this week, the Washington think tank, a left-leaning research organization in Washington where Summers was a prominent member, verified that the economist was not affiliated with the group.

The former official entered the leadership of the technology firm, which makes the AI chatbot, in 2023 - following a unsuccessful effort to remove its CEO OpenAI's head.