This whole thing has the smell of Microsoft pulling the strings to gain more control over the bleeding edge of AI. Idealists losing out to cold capitalists seeking profit and control is something we’ve seen many times before.
OpenAI is the world’s leading AI company. We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers. Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global norms. The products we built are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and cherish has never been in a stronger position.
The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company. Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.
When we all unexpectedly learned of your decision, the leadership team of OpenAI acted swiftly to stabilize the company. They carefully listened to your concerns and tried to cooperate with you on all grounds. Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They also increasingly realized you were not capable of carrying out your duties, and were negotiating in bad faith.
The leadership team suggested that the most stabilizing path forward - the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public - would be for you to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability.
Leadership worked with you around the clock to find a mutually agreeable outcome. Yet within two days of your initial decision, you again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati against the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed “would be consistent with the mission.”
Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
Remarkably, the letter’s signees include Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and a member of its board, who has been blamed for coordinating the boardroom coup against Altman in the first place.
I mean, if a board member sees issues around them, they are still only one person.
This gives them the power that they should have been able to utilize when they were on it. Plus, I’d bet she assumed it will likely succeed and it’s probably better optics to side with the employees than to double down. That said, I am confused about this portion:
We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
Signed the reinstatement after being the coordinator for the coup is definitely odd, lol
Dude I’m in the loop (Following this all pretty closely) and I have no idea what’s happening. Everything coming out is pure speculation and rumors, I don’t think any of us can have a formed opinion. Lemmy here has been batting back and forth on who the bad guy is and frankly - I don’t think anyone except for employees there know
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Dude leads the rebellion and then decides maybe he should rank-file after pulling the trigger? Sounds like someone I wouldn’t want behind me
Well, if they get the Twitch CEO as the replacement…
This whole thing has the smell of Microsoft pulling the strings to gain more control over the bleeding edge of AI. Idealists losing out to cold capitalists seeking profit and control is something we’ve seen many times before.
MS are the ones trying to reinstate Altman after all.
Content of the letter as reported by Wired.com
The board is the non-profit part of the company, the employees have shares they want to sell for yachtloads of cash.
I am so confused.
I mean, if a board member sees issues around them, they are still only one person.
This gives them the power that they should have been able to utilize when they were on it. Plus, I’d bet she assumed it will likely succeed and it’s probably better optics to side with the employees than to double down. That said, I am confused about this portion:
Signed the reinstatement after being the coordinator for the coup is definitely odd, lol
I laugh; OpenAI deserves everything coming to them
I’m out of the loop. What’s the reason to not like OpenAI?
Dude I’m in the loop (Following this all pretty closely) and I have no idea what’s happening. Everything coming out is pure speculation and rumors, I don’t think any of us can have a formed opinion. Lemmy here has been batting back and forth on who the bad guy is and frankly - I don’t think anyone except for employees there know
This is corporate politics. Most likely there are no good guys. So just grab a bucket of popcorn and watch the fireworks.
I wouldn’t even bet on that. It seems that no one has a full picture of what is going on.
I guess the question was not about the recent firing but about the company history in general.
Aside from probably ignoring any and all copyright and initiating the AI craze, did they do anything worse than any other company?
There are some criticisms of OpenAI as a company. For instance, some people believe that OpenAI has become too corporate and profit-driven, despite its initial commitment to being a nonprofit research organization. Others have criticized OpenAI for being closed-source and for-profit, which is a departure from its original mission of advancing digital intelligence in a way that benefits humanity as a whole.
It’s worth noting that OpenAI has also faced legal disputes over copyright infringements. However, OpenAI has also taken steps to address some of these criticisms. For example, it has partnered with the Associated Press to ensure that it has access to valuable material without running into legal trouble. It has also pledged to advance AI in a responsible and ethical manner.
🤖
source: Bing Chat
They sold out. They used to be pretty open, now they’re just another corporation.
The “selling out” was done under Altman though, no?
Sure was! Don’t believe I’ve posted anything to indicate that I’m an Altman stan, I’m just here to watch OpenAI squirm.