After their abrupt exits stunned the artificial intelligence community, Microsoft snatched up Sam Altman and another OpenAI architect for a new company, leaving the ChatGPT maker’s newly hired CEO to paper over tensions by swearing to examine Altman’s termination.
The news comes after a weekend of drama and speculation about how power dynamics would play out at OpenAI, whose chatbot launched the generative AI era by producing human-like text, images, video, and music.
It concluded with former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear taking over as interim CEO of OpenAI and Microsoft announcing the hiring of Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to run Microsoft’s new advanced AI research division.
Despite the schism between the core players behind ChatGPT and the firm they helped develop, Shear and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella stated their commitment to collaboration.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in the firm and contributed computing power to power its AI systems. Nadella stated on X, now known as Twitter, that he was “extremely excited” to bring on the former leaders of OpenAI and looked “forward to getting to know” Shear and the rest of the management team.
Microsoft Hires Sam Altman, And OpenAI’s New CEO Vows To Investigate His Firing
Altman replied on X, “the mission continues,” while Brockman remarked, “We are going to build something new & it will be incredible.”
OpenAI fired Altman on Friday after an investigation found him “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board of directors, which had lost faith in his capacity to lead the firm.
In an X post on Monday, Shear said he would appoint an independent investigator to investigate what led to Altman’s dismissal and publish a report within 30 days.
“It’s clear that the process and communications surrounding Sam’s removal were handled very poorly, which has severely damaged our trust,” stated Shear, co-founder of Twitch, an Amazon-owned live streaming service popular among video gamers.
He also stated that he intends to “reform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures into an effective force” in the coming month and meet with employees, investors, and consumers.
Shear then stated that he will “drive changes in the organization,” including “significant governance changes if necessary.”
Microsoft Hires Sam Altman, And OpenAI’s New CEO Vows To Investigate His Firing
He stated that the board’s decision to remove Altman was not based on a “specific disagreement on safety.” It most likely referenced the controversies surrounding OpenAI’s objective to produce AI that is “generally smarter than humans.”
Last Monday, OpenAI declined to answer questions concerning Altman’s apparent lack of transparency. According to the statement, his behavior impeded the board’s capacity to carry out its duties.
Ilya Sutskever, co-founder, chief scientist, and board member of OpenAI, expressed regret for his involvement in the ouster.
“I had no intention of causing harm to OpenAI.” “I love everything we’ve built together, and I’ll do everything I can to bring the company back together,” he stated on X on Monday.
OpenAI did not respond to emails seeking comment on Monday. A Microsoft official stated that the business would respond only as much as its CEO’s statement.
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Microsoft Hires Sam Altman, And OpenAI’s New CEO Vows To Investigate His Firing
Altman sparked conjecture about his return to the fold in a series of tweets following his dismissal. On Sunday, he shared a selfie with an OpenAI visitor pass, stating it was the “first and last time I ever wear one of these.”
Hours before, he wrote, “I love the open team so much,” prompting heartfelt responses from Brockman, who resigned after Altman was fired, and Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, initially named interim CEO.
It’s unclear what happened between the announcement of Murati’s interim post on Friday and Shear’s hiring on Monday, but she was among numerous staffers who tweeted on Monday, “OpenAI is nothing without its people.” Many people responded to Altman with heart emojis.
Jan Leike, one of OpenAI’s safety-focused researchers, called on the OpenAI board to quit, claiming he had spent the weekend working with the company’s leadership team “to help with this crisis.”
Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, internet entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology make up the board.
Microsoft Hires Sam Altman, And OpenAI’s New CEO Vows To Investigate His Firing
He stated that he “took this job because I believe that OpenAI is one of the most important companies currently in existence.”
In a June podcast, Shear stated that while he is usually enthusiastic about technology, he is concerned about the path of artificial intelligence toward creating something “a lot smarter than us” that seeks to damage people.
“If there is a world where we survive … where we build an AI that’s smarter than humans and survive it, it’s going to be because we built smaller AIs than that, and we actually had as many smart people as we can working on that, and taking the problem seriously,” Shear said at the time.
It’s a problem Altman has been dealing with since he helped propel ChatGPT to global prominence. He has become Silicon Valley’s most sought-after expert on artificial intelligence’s promise and potential risks in the last year.
He went on a world tour earlier this year to meet with government officials, attracting large crowds at public events as he discussed the perils of AI and attempts to control the developing technology.
“If Microsoft lost Altman, he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or a slew of other tech companies desperate to get the face of AI globally in their doors,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a research note.
According to Ives, Microsoft is currently in an even stronger position in terms of AI. Its stock gained about 2% before the opening bell and was close to reaching an all-time high on Monday.
The Associated Press and OpenAI have reached a license and technology deal that gives OpenAI access to a portion of the AP’s text archives.
SOURVCE – (AP)
