Sam Altman and another OpenAI architect were snatched up by Microsoft for a new project after their abrupt exits stunned the AI community. The CEO of ChatGPT, who had just been appointed, tried to defuse the situation by pledging to look into Altman’s termination.
Following a weekend filled with drama and conjecture about how the power dynamics would play out at OpenAI, whose chatbot ignited the generative AI era by creating text, images, videos, and music that resembled human speech, the developments on Monday
In the end, OpenAI’s temporary CEO Emmett Shear, a former Twitch leader, took over, and Microsoft announced that Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman would be leading Microsoft’s new advanced AI research division.
Shear, together with Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, expressed their commitment to their relationship in spite of the split that exists between the major actors behind ChatGPT and the firm they helped create.
Microsoft backed the startup by contributing billions of dollars in funding and processing capacity to run its AI algorithms. On X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter, Nadella expressed his excitement about hiring the former leaders of OpenAI and expressed his desire to “get to know” Shear and the other members of the management team.
“The mission continues,” said Altman on X, while Brockman wrote, “We are going to build something new, and it will be incredible.”
Altman was fired, according to OpenAI, which announced on Friday, following an investigation that revealed he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board of directors, which had lost faith in his ability to steer the business.
Shear announced on Monday on X that he will appoint a third-party investigator to look into the circumstances behind Altman’s dismissal and produce a report in less than 30 days.
Shear, a co-founder of Twitch, an Amazon-owned live-streaming site that is well-liked among video gamers, commented, “It’s clear that the process and communications around Sam’s removal have been handled very badly, which has seriously damaged our trust.”
In addition, he stated that he will talk with staff members, investors, and clients in the coming month as part of his intentions to “reform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures into an effective force.”
Following that, Shear declared that he would “drive changes in the organization,” including if needed, “significant governance changes.”
He stated that there was no “specific disagreement on safety” as to why Altman was removed by the board. It was probably an allusion to the arguments that have surrounded OpenAI’s goal of developing AI that is “generally smarter than humans” in a safe manner.
When asked last week what Altman’s purported lack of candor was about, OpenAI declined to comment. According to its statement, his actions were impeding the board’s capacity to carry out its duties.
Ilya Sutskever, co-founder, chief scientist, and board member of OpenAI, was a major force behind the reorganization and apologized for his part in the dismissal.
“I never meant to cause harm to OpenAI. He declared on X on Monday, “I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”
Emails requesting a response on Monday were not answered by OpenAI. Beyond the remarks made by its CEO, Microsoft will not comment, according to a spokesman for the firm.
In a string of tweets following his expulsion, Altman sparked rumors that he might rejoin the team. On Sunday, he shared a selfie of himself wearing an OpenAI guest pass, stating that it was his “first and last time ever wearing one of these.”
He had tweeted, “I love the OpenAI team so much,” hours before, to which Brockman, who resigned after Altman was sacked, and Mira Murati, the chief technology officer of OpenAI, who had originally been chosen temporary CEO, had responded heartily.
The events leading up to Shear’s hiring and the announcement of Murati’s temporary position on Friday remain unclear, while Shear was one of several staff members who tweeted on Monday that “OpenAI is nothing without its people.” Altman used heart emojis in many of his responses.
Jan Leike, a safety-focused researcher at OpenAI, demanded the resignation of the board, claiming to have spent the whole weekend collaborating with the company’s executive team “to help with this crisis.”
Sutskever, software entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and Helen Toner from the Georgetown Centre for Security and Emerging Technology make up the board.
“I believe that OpenAI is one of the most important companies currently in existence,” Shear stated in his job interview.
In a June podcast, Shear expressed his general optimism about technology but expressed grave concerns about artificial intelligence’s trajectory towards creating something “much smarter than us” that sets itself on a course that puts people at risk.
“In the event that we create an artificial intelligence (AI) system that surpasses human intelligence and manages to survive, it will be due to our ability to create smaller AIs and our commitment to dedicating as many intelligent individuals as possible to this endeavor,” Shear stated in June.
Altman has continuously dealt with this problem ever since he assisted in propelling ChatGPT to international prominence. His opinions on the possible benefits and risks of artificial intelligence have gained him considerable popularity in Silicon Valley during the last year.
He embarked on a global tour earlier this year to meet with officials from various governments, attracting large audiences to public events where he spoke about the dangers of artificial intelligence and efforts to regulate the developing technology.
Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives stated in a research note that “if Microsoft lost Altman, he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or a host of other tech companies craving to get the face of AI globally in their doors.”
Ives stated that Microsoft’s stance on AI is now even more powerful. Prior to the opening bell, its shares increased by almost 2%, and on Monday, they were getting close to reaching an all-time high.
