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Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is exiting the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a series of emails between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became public.

The economist commented in an announcement that he was "grateful for the privilege to have contributed, enthusiastic about the promise of the company, and anticipate tracking their advancement".

The former Harvard president, who once presided over Harvard University, declared on earlier this week that he would be scaling back from public responsibilities due to his association with Epstein.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed emails demonstrated that the economist communicated with Epstein until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 apprehension for suspected trafficking of underage individuals.

In additional comments, the artificial intelligence company stated it understood Summers' choice to depart.

"We appreciate his significant contributions and the viewpoint he brought to the Board," the company commented.

Legislative Background

This news arrives after both chambers of the legislative branch voted on Tuesday to endorse a legislation that would require the US justice department to disclose its files on Epstein.

The bill will subsequently head to the desk of the White House for signature. Trump has stated he plans to endorse the bill, after modifying his view on the matter following objections from his supporters.

Message Details

A group of Epstein-related emails disclosed by the Congressional committee last week referenced several prominent individuals in the billionaire's former circle, without suggesting any criminal activity by those individuals.

The messages revealed that Summers and Epstein often met for meals, with Epstein often trying to link the academic to notable world leaders.

Individual Statement

After the messages were released with the public, the former official expressed he accepted "complete accountability for my poor decision to persist in corresponding with Mr Epstein".

He continued that he wanted "to restore trust and mend relationships with the people most important to me".

Previous Positions

The professor served in leadership roles under Democratic administrations; serving as economic leader under President Clinton, and as director of the economic advisory body under Barack Obama.

He headed the university from 2001 to 2006 and remains a professor there. When announcing his withdrawal from public roles recently on Monday, he said he would maintain his teaching commitments.

Other Impacts

Following the economist's statement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy institute in DC where he was a senior fellow, confirmed that the economist was ceased to be affiliated with the institution.

He joined the directorate of the AI company, which creates ChatGPT, in the previous year - following a failed attempt to oust its CEO Sam Altman.