In May 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was sworn in and testifying before Congress about the regulation of artificial intelligence. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana heard his ideas about licensing advanced models and asked if Altman might be qualified to run a hypothetical AI regulatory agency. “I love my current job,” Altman said , to titters. “You make a lot of money, do you?” Kennedy asked him. “No, I’m paid enough for health insurance, I have no equity in OpenAI,” Altman assured him. “You need a lawyer,” Kennedy replied. Now Altman has many lawyers, who watched as their client suffered a withering interrogation, sworn in to a California federal court on Tuesday. They were investigating much the same matter as Kenndy—is Altman qualified to to control the most advanced AI models?…