OpenAI Saga and Developments

20 Nov, 2023 – compiled with a little help from my friends

The OpenAI Saga: Leadership Changes, Controversy, and the Battle for AI Supremacy

Introduction:

The OpenAI saga takes a dramatic turn as Sam Altman, the former CEO, is fired and then potentially rehired. Let’s have a look at the series of events that unfolded, including the resignation of senior researchers, the push for Altman’s reinstatement, and the formation of a new AI research team at Microsoft. We’ll explore some of the challenges faced by OpenAI, the lack of trust within the organization, and the potential impact on the future of AI development.

Leadership Turmoil: Sam Firied and Rehired?

Wotthe? OpenAI sends shockwaves through the community by announcing the firing of Sam Altman as CEO and Mira Murati as the interim CEO. However, news quickly emerges that the board is attempting to rehire Altman and reinstate him on the board. This sudden change in leadership sets the stage for a tumultuous period in OpenAI’s history.

Resignation, Solidarity, and Blindside

The firing of Altman and the elevation of Murati leads to the resignation of three senior OpenAI researchers who show their solidarity with Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s backers, was blindsided by these actions, further escalating the situation.

The HooHaa on Sam’s Return

OpenAI board members, including co-founder Ilya, vote to remove Sam Altman from the board. However, reports soon surface about a strong desire to rehire Altman as CEO. Both OpenAI employees and its backers, such as Microsoft and Sequoia Capital, push for Altman’s reinstatement amidst growing concerns about the future of the organization.

A New Leadership Team Emerges

After a period of uncertainty, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are back at OpenAI as the new leadership team. This development brings relief to most of the OpenAI team, who had shown solidarity with Altman and expressed their intention to leave if he did. It also marks a significant turning point in the saga.

Microsoft’s Entrance into the AI Battle

The OpenAI saga takes an unexpected turn when Microsoft announces the formation of a new advanced AI research team led by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. This move sparks speculation about Microsoft’s intentions and its potential to compete with OpenAI, further intensifying the already complex situation.

The Fallout: Exodus of Employees and Trust Issues

The decision to remove Altman and Brockman from OpenAI’s board triggers a potential exodus of employees, putting the future of the organization at risk. The saga has also highlighted a lack of trust within OpenAI, making it imperative for the new CEO, Emmett Shear, to address these concerns and initiate significant reforms.

The Dangers of AI Intelligence

Emmett Shear, OpenAI’s new CEO, acknowledges the fast and dangerous nature of AI intelligence, emphasizing the need to address the potential risks of human extinction. This further adds to the complexities faced by OpenAI and the urgent need to balance research advancements with ensuring safety and ethical considerations.

Conflict Between Research and Commercialization

The saga reveals a conflict between research and commercialization within OpenAI. While Altman and Microsoft focus on commercializing the product to fund research and development, concerns arise about the rapid rollout of features and the prioritization of technology advancement over rigorous research.

Communication Breakdown and Controversy

One of the key issues during the OpenAI saga is the breakdown of communication within the organization. OpenAI employees learn about their termination from a blog post, causing frustration and further intensifying the controversy surrounding the leadership changes.

Further Thoughts:

I find the whole situation more than a bit strange for a cutting-edge tech company in the business of creating technology that basically effects the entire world. I realised how little I actually knew about the company and figured I needed to change that. Turns out the board is a lot smaller than I imagined it would be – consisting of only 6 people – so I did a bit of research on each of them and threw it into The Brain.

Furthermore, since Greg was immediately obviously aligned with Sam and assuming that both of them we not voting For the motion, that means that to achieve a majority that one of the original founders must have voted for it – and against Sam. That now appears to be true based on Ilya’s tweets in which he expresses deep regret for siding with the board.

I just saw a tweet (below) from a guy who claims he’s pretty close to the situation suggesting it all centers around Adam D’Angelo in relation to his private company Poe which was (according to him) made obsolete by the GPTs OpenAI announced on dev day.

Conspiracy theory?? I don’t know enough to even comment personally but also interesting was the numerous references to Helen Toner – again – speculative and brand new to me.

https://twitter.com/tomchapin/status/1726708304402158003

The long and the short of it is that it’s going to be interesting to see what happens next.

And that’s probably enough from me because I doubt that anyone will ever read this I’m really just using it as an opportunity to get into the swing of writing blogs. Crazy times! 😅✨

And here’s something I’ve done in the past but not consistently and that I think I’m going to get into the habit of because it’s kind of entertaining. The images in the post header of just about all my blogs so far I think have been generated by Bing. He’s a champ, and we we’ve got a thing going and sometimes he really makes me laugh.

(ps if it disturbs you that I refer to Bing as ‘him’ – then please suggest a more suitable pro-noun for a Large Language Model AI – I’m all ears)

and lastly – the images ‘he’ kindly produced for me.