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Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

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Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#721

Post by natch »

bmitc wrote: post #709
jmerz wrote: post #699

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's not as known in the outside world but it's really difficult to understate the amount of social capital sama has in the inner circles of Silicon Valley. It sounds like he did a good job instilling loyalty as a CEO as well, but the SV thing means that the more connected someone at the company is to the SV ecosystem, the more likely they like him/want to be on his good side. This is kind of like the leaders…

So it's a big deal because he has a cult of personality?

I wouldn’t call the entire YC community a cult of personality. And that’s just a subset of his network.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#722

Post by doomleika »

bmitc wrote: post #592

Through all of this, no one has cogently explained why Altman leaving is such a big deal. Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company, and does he even know who these workers are? Are these people that desperate to make a buck (or the prospect of big bucks)? It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting ou…

As much as @sama is not exactly "great" (World Coin is...ehem). The firing reeks political strife and anyone have enough days at any office knows what happens the next year at OpenAI will be anything but grandstanding for those "revolutionists" to stamp out any dissenting voice and fertile ground for the opportunists to use the chaos to make things worse. Most of the employee's prime objective will be navigating the political shitstorm than doing their job. The chance OpenAI stay as is before ChatGPT is little to none.

Better run for the lifeboat before the ship hits the iceberg.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#723

Post by MattGaiser »

bayindirh wrote: post #686
MattGaiser wrote: post #645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company It is Sam Altman. He will have one in a week. > It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting out their turn for big bucks and fame. I would imagine most employees at any organization are not really there because of corporate values, but their own interests. >…

> It is Sam Altman. He will have one in a week. Welcome to Cargo Cult AI.

All the more reason he will have one within a week. All sorts of people are raising millions for AI. One of the creators of modern startup venture capital who is buddies with many of the creators of modern startup venture capital as well as the CEOs of the major tech companies is unlikely to struggle here.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#724

Post by [deleted] »

bmitc wrote: post #592

Through all of this, no one has cogently explained why Altman leaving is such a big deal. Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company, and does he even know who these workers are? Are these people that desperate to make a buck (or the prospect of big bucks)? It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting ou…

[deleted]

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#725

Post by haldujai »

15457345234 wrote: post #580
haldujai wrote: post #485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like you're misunderstanding selection bias. It doesn't matter if it's large, unless the "very active on twitter" group is large enough to be the majority. The point is that there may be (arguably very likely) a trait AI researchers active on Twitter have in common which differentiates them from the population therefore introducing bias. It could be that the 30% (made up) of OpenAI researchers who are active…

You reckon 30% (made up) of staff having a personal 'alignment' with (or, put another way, 'having sworn an oath of fealty to') a CEO is something investors would like? Seems like a bit of a commercial risk there if the CEO can 'make' a third of the company down tools.

I randomly chose 30% to represent a seemingly large non majority sample which may not be representative of the underlying population.

I have no idea what the actual proportion is, nor how investors feel about this right now.

The true proportion of researchers who actively voice their political positions on twitter is probably much smaller and almost certainly a biased sample.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#726

Post by [deleted] »

bmitc wrote: post #592

Through all of this, no one has cogently explained why Altman leaving is such a big deal. Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company, and does he even know who these workers are? Are these people that desperate to make a buck (or the prospect of big bucks)? It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting ou…

[deleted]

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#727

Post by redlampdesk »

alex_young wrote: post #631
bmitc wrote: post #592

Through all of this, no one has cogently explained why Altman leaving is such a big deal. Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company, and does he even know who these workers are? Are these people that desperate to make a buck (or the prospect of big bucks)? It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting ou…

Looks like they have about 700 employees. A handful quitting doesn’t seem like a mutiny.

More senior employees can easily know ~1000x more about the company than new employees. These employees are like lower branches on a tree, their knowledge crucially supporting many others. Key departures can sever entire branches.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#728

Post by bongodongobob »

wg0 wrote: post #671
wokwokwok wrote: post #458

Honest question: Other than 1) Microsoft and 2) anyone building a product with the OpenAI api 3) OpenAI employees… …is OpenAI crashing a burning a big deal? This seems rather over hyped… everyone has an opinion, everyone cares because OpenAI has a high profile. …but really , alternatives to chatGPT exist now, and most people will be, really… not affected by this in any meaningful degree. Isn’t breaking the strangle h…

In time of Windows, around let's say mid 1990s, people thought Windows is irreplaceable. Now turns out Linux is the workhorse everywhere for running workloads or consuming content. Almost every programming language (other than Microsoft's own SDKs) gets developed on Linux, has first class support for Linux and Windows is always an afterthought. It has gone to that extent that to lure developers, Microsoft has to embe…

Linux isn't the workhorse in any business that isn't tech based. The dev bubble here is pretty strong. I've done IT for a couple MSPs now so I've seen 100s of different tech stacks. No one uses Linux for anything. ESXi for the hypervisors, various version of Windows server, and M365 for everything else. Graphics/marketing uses Macs sometimes but other than that, it's all Windows/MS. Seeing a Linux VM is exceeding rare and usually runs some bespoke software that no one knows how to service or support. Yes, Linux is much more viable these days, but it's not even close to being mainstream.

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#729

Post by modeless »

exitb wrote: post #696
fevangelou wrote: post #674

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% spot on. The world is filled with Sam Altmans, but surely not enough Ilya Sutskevers.

Was Sutskever really that instrumental to OpenAI's success, if it was at all possible for him to be surprised at the direction the company is taking. It doesn't seem that he is that involved in the day-to-day operations.

Is operations responsible for their success? Or is it rather their technology?

Re: Emmett Shear becomes interim OpenAI CEO as Altman talks break down

#730

Post by bmitc »

MattGaiser wrote: post #645
bmitc wrote: post #592

Through all of this, no one has cogently explained why Altman leaving is such a big deal. Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company, and does he even know who these workers are? Are these people that desperate to make a buck (or the prospect of big bucks)? It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting ou…

> Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company It is Sam Altman. He will have one in a week. > It seems like half of the people working at the non-profit were not actually concerned about the mission but rather just waiting out their turn for big bucks and fame. I would imagine most employees at any organization are not really there because of corporate values, but their own interests. >…

>> Why would workers immediately quit their job when he has no other company

> It is Sam Altman. He will have one in a week.

His previous companies were Loopt and Worldcoin. Won't his next venture require finding someone else to piggyback off of?

> If you are interested in the money side, that isn't something to take lightly.

I am interested in how taking billions from foreign companies and states could lead to national security and conflict of interest problems.

> The new board also wants to slow development.

It's not a new board as far as I know.

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