Judge Names Federal Judge as Mediator in Musk-Altman AI Suits

Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, has appointed a mediator to resolve the tangle of legal disputes between Elon Musk (xAI) and Sam Altman (OpenAI) and their respective AI startups. In an order issued late Wednesday, Gonzalez Rogers named R. David Proctor, a senior federal judge from the Northern District of Alabama, as mediator, directing the parties toward a "just, speedy and inexpensive resolution." According to the report, Proctor is a senior federal judge based at the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse.