I am no professional but:
https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/21/openai-governance-structure-explainer/
This is what I have found about the governmance structure of OpenAI. It’s complicated but basically the working company is a for-profit controlled by a non-profit, controlled by employees and other investors, the non-profit is also controlled by a board of driectors. Also it’s all based in the US.
The Mastodon model is probably going to be a lot simpler and will probably not allow big investors to take ownership of the company. Also they are looking for a suitable country in the EU that will enforce the non-profit’s obligations to the people. Being based in the EU is in itself a huge difference, and by choice. They have not set anything in stone yet so it’s all specualtion essentialy.
Also there is the trust thing: OpenAI does not need trust from people, other AI companies are for profit too and work just fine. Mastodon is build around the fact that it is different from things like twitter. If they start doing maliciuos stuff, they will loose trust and in turn their main selling point. Also openness.
Also it is open source is it not? So any progress they have made can be used to create a competitor. Basically the whole business model is different.
Nobody had to go kiss the ring they payed for his campaign because THEY WANTED to please him. Edit: Typo