Who Gains and Who Loses in the OpenAI Controversy

Characters And The Story of OpenAI Controversy

When the news of Sam Altman being sacked from OpenAI hit the news headlines, the world was nothing but shocked. From leading AI voices such as Lex Fridman to leading OpenAI investors including Khurana expressed their surprise at the board’s decision.  The voice in support of Altman was so strong that the board not only had to take back its decision and reinstate Sam Altman as the CEO of OpenAI but it was also sacked right after Altman’s return. 

Running over a few days, the OpenAI feud was a perfect corporate drama involving sensitive concerns such as AI security, power of the board, and Microsoft’s intervention in OpenAI’s regular operations. Before everyone in the space could catch up with what was happening, the show was over and thus, today we broke down the complete OpenAI saga for our readers. 

Characters and the story

Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI  and a notable figure in AI development, was sacked from his leadership position in OpenAI. He was informed about this over a Google Meet. Greg Brockman, co-founder and former president of the OpenAI board, played a crucial role in building OpenAI from scratch. Brockman was also called up for a Google Meet in which the board informed him about his removal from his position as board president but was asked to retain his position in the company. 

Mira Murati, OpenAI's CTO, was then appointed as the interim CEO of the company as per the official announcement blog published on OpenAI’s website. But after Mira showed his support for Altman by tweeting a ‘heart’ emoji to Sam Altman’s tweet, Mira’s name from the race for new OpenAI CEO was removed. After Mira Murati, the news of Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, came up in the news as interim CEO during this leadership transition fiasco. 

Right after this, Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO also confirmed the speculation about Shear’s name by tweeting, “We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap…We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them.”

In the following tweet, Nadella also made a formal announcement of Sam Altman and the team joining Microsoft AI Research and working for the OS mammoth in its AI venture. 

Amid this, Elon Musk, Co-founder of OpenAI and owner of X, continued to joke about the matter in replies to these leaders’ tweets and even questioned the top leadership about the reasons behind the sacking of Sam Altman. However, no one mentioned in the timeline replied to Elon. 

Support and resurrection

After this drama that went on for 3 days, Sam Altman returned to OpenAI as CEO and was announced through an agreement in principle, with Altman agreeing to an internal investigation into alleged conduct that had led to his dismissal. 

As part of the compromise for his return, neither Altman nor former OpenAI President Greg Brockman, who also departed, will reclaim their seats on the company's board. The new board of OpenAI will consist of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.

Sharing the information from the official Twitter handle, OpenAI wrote, 

“Sam Altman is back as CEO, Mira Murati as CTO and Greg Brockman as President. OpenAI has a new initial board. Messages from @sama and board chair @btaylor”

Concluding the entire fiasco, Sam Altman tweeted, “i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft.

Theories behind Altman’s sacking

Right after the sacking of Sam Altman, a series of theories sparked across the internet bringing in discussions across different platforms. Here are some of the key points and theories that have emerged:

Microsoft's Involvement

A discussion on Reddit's r/singularity subreddit suggests that Microsoft was not involved in Altman's firing. This rules out theories about a hostile takeover by Microsoft. The post also mentions that the manner of Altman's dismissal was unusual, indicating that it was not a simple replacement by a loyalist. There's speculation about a disagreement on AI safety and the use of AI for commercial purposes, potentially conflicting with OpenAI's original ideals.

Comparison to Steve Jobs' Firing

An article on Yahoo Finance draws parallels between Altman's firing and the famous dismissal of Steve Jobs from Apple in 1985. The article notes that Altman's firing is considered a significant event in the tech industry, similar to Jobs' ouster. But unlike Jobs, Altman is back in the shed within days.

Resignation of Greg Brockman

Following Altman's firing, OpenAI's president Greg Brockman announced his resignation. This adds to the speculation and uncertainty surrounding the reasons for Altman's dismissal. Despite these discussions, no concrete theory has been substantiated, leaving the exact reasons for Altman's firing a matter of speculation.

What did Microsoft get?

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, publicly reaffirmed the company's commitment to its partnership with OpenAI even during the leadership chaos. Microsoft made it clear that it continues to hold confidence in the product roadmap and would be more than willing to work with a new team. 

This clearly indicates that no matter what, Microsoft wants to maintain a positive relationship with OpenAI and its projects are crucial for the continuation of any joint projects or initiatives.

Without a doubt, OpenAI is at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and development. And Nadella, in no sane mind, would like to hurt these relations under his leadership. Nadella tried to get the best of both world by inviting Sam Altman on board but OpenAI flipped and Altman went back home. 

Also Read: How Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot Grok is different from OpenAI’s ChatGPT