‘Coup’: 3 out of 4 board members resign
Altman: “Strong partnership with Microsoft”
“AI developmentists win over safety advocates”
AI iPhone-GPT Store elasticity expected
Sam Altman, the ‘father of ChatGPT’, returned as CEO of OpenAI on the 21st (local time), five days after being ousted by the OpenAI board of directors. Altman, who had focused on the development and commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, seemed to be pushed out by the board of directors who pursued ‘safe AI’. However, this coup ended in ‘5 days to the world’ amid strong opposition from investors and executives, and Altman and majority shareholder Microsoft (MS), which made a quick move to recruit him, achieved a complete victory.
Three of the four board members who led this coup, including co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskiver, resigned from the board of directors. With a new board of directors centered around CEO Altman, it is predicted that the cooperative relationship between Microsoft and Open AI, which led to Altman’s return, will become closer. The Wall Street Journal (WS) said about this situation, “Who will lead Open AI, which has become the mainstream of the AI industry, between the board of directors of a non-profit corporation that advocates the mission of safely developing AI and the person recognized as the ‘face of the technological revolution’ (Altman)? “The issue has been decided,” he said.
On this day, OpenAI announced on social media Co-founder Greg Brockman, who left the company with Altman in protest of his dismissal, also plans to return.
After the decision to reinstate him, Altman told “We look forward to returning to OpenAI with the support of and building a strong partnership with Microsoft.”
Of the four existing OpenAI board members who attempted to oust Altman, three, including Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo and chief scientist at Sutskiber, resigned. CEO D’Angelo led the negotiations on Altman’s return on behalf of the board of directors. Altman’s return was finalized due to strong pressure from investors and more than 90% of the executives and employees, but it was reported that the announcement of his return was delayed due to problems with the composition of the new board of directors.
The new board will be chaired by former Salesforce co-CEO Brett Taylor. Harvard University professor Larry Summers, who served as Secretary of the Treasury during the Bill Clinton administration, also joined. The three directors, including CEO D’Angelo, plan to add up to six more members to form the board of directors. According to the WSJ, the new board and Altman’s team agreed to investigate the board’s decision to fire Altman. The governance structure, in which the non-profit board of directors makes decisions while blocking investor access, is also expected to be completely reorganized.
This situation, which has been resolved with Altman’s return, is evaluated as a victory for ‘developmentalists’ who are trying to speed up commercialization despite the potential threat of AI. In an interview with the New York Times last week, when asked if he was a developer, Altman said, “AI is an incredibly beneficial technology, and I believe we need to find a way to deliver it to people safely and responsibly so that they can enjoy great rewards.” said. It revealed his belief in technological development and progress in commercialization.
According to the NYT, the conflict surrounding this between Altman and the existing board of directors has continued for nearly a year. In particular, a few weeks before his dismissal, Altman is said to have reprimanded board member Helen Toner, an ‘AI cautious’, and director of strategy at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, for “criticizing the approach of Open AI.” Then, Toner and others raised a motion to dismiss Altman.
However, the interests of investors and executives were close to Altman’s. After his return, Altman is expected to speed up the development of the ‘AI iPhone’ and the launch of the ‘GPT Store’, similar to the Apple App Store. CNN evaluated that “Altman’s vision to speed up the spread and commercialization of AI won.”
MS has also gained an advantage over competitors such as Google in the future AI landscape. Microsoft, which owned a 49% stake in Open AI but did not have a board seat, actively supported Altman. Microsoft is likely to get a seat on the new board of directors. Microsoft CEO Nadella emphasized to
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.