The Board of Directors replaced him. He replaced the Board of Directors.
Sam Altman was officially reinstated as the CEO of OpenAI on Tuesday.
This dizzying move took place five days after he was fired, owing largely to the mass revolt from around almost all the 800 staff who threatened to quit. Nor was it just the staff: the Board of Directors themselves were split due to their own decision. One leading member, Adam D’Angelo, had second thoughts amid the staff protest and the devastating effect it could have on OpenAI as a whole.
Thus, on Tuesday night, OpenAI officially announced that Altman would be returning as CEO. Taking to X, OpenAI tweeted: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”
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…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023
Altman’s reinstatement, however, came with a twist: the Board who sacked him has been almost entirely replaced. Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, and one of the company’s founders, Ilya Sutskever, are all leaving the company, as is Altman’s former replacement, Emmett Shear, who lasted less than 72 hours. The sole survivor of the old boardroom is Adam D’Anglo, the CEO of the question-and-answer site, Quora, and one to have second thoughts about Altman’s sacking.
This latest development caps the chaotic period over the past few days which revealed the deep-rooted tensions in the heart of Artificial Intelligence. Specifically, it revealed the growing rift between those whose perspective aligns with scientists and other public researchers and intellectuals, who advocate for caution and restraint in the rapidly evolving field of AI due to the risk it may pose to society; and those with more business-oriented interests who disregard those concerns and want the scope of AI to grow massively and naturally.
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