OpenAI President Greg Brockman Reads Personal Journal in Musk Trial

The testimony came during Elon Musk’s lawsuit alleging that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission to enrich its leaders. Brockman, who has kept the journal private since school, was asked to describe its role in his decision‑making.

Brockman told OpenAI lawyer Sarah Eddy that discussing the journal was “very painful.” He said the notebook, started in school, now holds roughly 100 pages of stream‑of‑consciousness notes used for major professional choices. The entries mix personal reflections, imagined viewpoints, and copied text‑message excerpts, making them difficult to interpret out of context.

During his second day on the stand, Brockman read several of the most embarrassing passages aloud. The courtroom audience and a YouTube livestream, which peaked at about 1,200 viewers, heard him recount moments he described as deeply personal, not intended for public consumption.

The journal entered the record after OpenAI submitted it as evidence in October. The filing was sealed until January, when Musk’s legal team argued the pages showed OpenAI leaders deciding to abandon the nonprofit charter, including a note about “stealing a charity from Musk” and aiming for a billion‑dollar payout.

Brockman maintained he is not ashamed of the content, but he emphasized the journal was never meant for anyone else to read. The forced disclosure highlights the lengths to which the trial is probing internal decision‑making at OpenAI.

What it means: The public reading underscores the personal stakes for OpenAI executives and may pressure the company to clarify its governance and profit motives. Watch for further testimony that could reveal additional internal documents and shape the lawsuit’s outcome.