- A group of staff researchers at OpenAI expressed their concerns to the board of directors¹.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired in a surprise move that led to the resignation of President Greg Brockman and three senior scientists³. This move also blindsided key investor and minority owner Microsoft, reportedly making its CEO Satya Nadella furious³.
- The ousting was likely orchestrated by Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever over concerns about the safety and speed of OpenAI’s tech deployment³.
- Disagreements had emerged over the speed at which Altman was pushing for commercialization and company growth, with Sutskever arguing to slow things down³.
- Following the ousting, Microsoft announced it had hired Altman and another former OpenAI executive Greg Brockman to head up its own AI division⁴.
- The majority of the company’s remaining employees say they’re willing to quit unless the board resigns⁴.

This situation has caused quite a stir in the tech industry³⁴. It’s a developing story, so there may be more updates in the future.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 2023-11-24
(1) Was OpenAI Brouhaha Aimed To Derail AI Capability To Complete Grade School Math?. https://thedeepdive.ca/was-openai-brouhaha-aimed-to-derail-ai-capability-to-complete-grade-school-math/.
(2) Details emerge of surprise board coup that ousted CEO Sam Altman at …. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/11/report-sutskever-led-board-coup-at-openai-that-ousted-altman-over-ai-safety-concerns/.
(3) Majority of OpenAI employees threaten to quit as backlash against …. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-1.7033588.
(4) Microsoft hits all-time high as Satya Nadella’s star shines amid OpenAI brouhaha. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/microsoft-hits-all-time-high-as-satya-nadellas-star-shines-amid-openai-brouhaha/ar-AA1keQA6.
(5) undefined. https://t.co/u3iKwyWj0a.

The real terror here is not of machines taking over humanity. After all, we can always just pull the plug. The real problem is turning over human decision making to some “intelligent”, computational, automated, electronic, electrical, mechanical, bureaucratic system simply because its cheaper to operate and maintain. And this has nothing to do with technology. The Romans had bureaucracies too.

Computers are great for things like navigating spacecraft or solving systems of partial differential equations. But when we start using them to answer dentists’ telephones or buying and selling stocks, we are VOLUNTARILY turning over human control to an automatic process dictated primarily by the greed of some accountant. This avarice didn’t start with AI, it began when we started writing down rules on clay tablets to control the storage and distribution of surplus grain five millennia ago. The machines “took over” a long time ago.

The next time you go hungry because an illiterate teenager can’t make change for you at a fast food restaurant because “the system is down”, don’t blame the system. Blame the boss.

As for those wackos on the ChatAI board, well, what do you expect? They’re engineers.

“Feel the AGI! Feel the AGI!” employees reportedly chanted, per The Atlantic, a refrain that was led by Sutskever himself.

The chief scientist even commissioned a wooden effigy to represent an “unaligned” AI that works against the interest of humanity, only to set it on fire.

In short, instead of focusing on meaningfully advancing AI tech in a scientifically sound way, some board members sound like they’re engaging in weird spiritual claims.