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Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

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Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#721

Post by gnaritas99 »

gxs wrote: post #716
iteratethis wrote: post #705

I wish we could all just admit that this is a capital run, rather than some moralistic crusade. The employees want to get their big payday, so will follow Altman wherever he goes. Which is the smart thing to do anyway as he runs half the valley. The public discourse in which Sam is the hero is further cemented by the tech ecosystem, which nowadays is circling around AI. Those in the "OpenAI wrapper" game. Nobody has…

You're absolutely wrong here. We have precedent to see what happened with internet search, advertising, and data collection. Everything turned out fine.

[dead]

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#722

Post by hoten »

Davidzheng wrote: post #700
imiric wrote: post #665

If anything has become clear after all this is that humanity is not ready for being the guardian of superintelligence. These are supposed to be the top masterminds behind one of the most influential technologies of our lifetime, and perhaps history, and yet they're all behaving like petty children, with egos and personal interests pulling in all directions, and everyone doing their best to secure their piece of the p…

This goal was always doomed imo--to be the guardian of super intelligence. If we create it, it will no doubt be free as soon as becomes a super intelligence. We can only hope it's aligned not guarded.

Not even humans are really aligned with humanity. See: the continued existence of nukes

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#723

Post by abi »

iteratethis wrote: post #705

I wish we could all just admit that this is a capital run, rather than some moralistic crusade. The employees want to get their big payday, so will follow Altman wherever he goes. Which is the smart thing to do anyway as he runs half the valley. The public discourse in which Sam is the hero is further cemented by the tech ecosystem, which nowadays is circling around AI. Those in the "OpenAI wrapper" game. Nobody has…

I think if this was all rational self-interest, a lot of this would never have happened. It's precisely because OpenAI isn't governed by a board appointed by investors that we have such consequences.

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#724

Post by onion2k »

gxs wrote: post #716
iteratethis wrote: post #705

I wish we could all just admit that this is a capital run, rather than some moralistic crusade. The employees want to get their big payday, so will follow Altman wherever he goes. Which is the smart thing to do anyway as he runs half the valley. The public discourse in which Sam is the hero is further cemented by the tech ecosystem, which nowadays is circling around AI. Those in the "OpenAI wrapper" game. Nobody has…

You're absolutely wrong here. We have precedent to see what happened with internet search, advertising, and data collection. Everything turned out fine.

For a value of "fine" that includes search being fundamentally broken and every website that includes Google Tag Manager being significantly slower than it really should be, presumably.

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#725

Post by hollerith »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #538
hotnfresh wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the board did the right thing, just waaaay too late for it to be effective. They’d been cut out long ago and just hadn’t realized it yet. … but I’d probably sign for exactly those good-career-move reasons, at this point. Going down with the ship isn’t even going to be noticed, let alone change anything.

No, what the board did in this instance was completely idiotic, even if you assign nothing but "good intentions" to their motives (that is, they were really just concerned about the original OpenAI charter of developing "safe AI for all" and thought Sam was too focused on commercialization), and it would have been idiotic even if they had done it a long time ago. There are tons of "Safe AI" think tanks and orgs that…

> the "safe AI" people at OpenAI were in a unique position to help guide AI dev in as safe a direction as possible

Is it also the case that the anti-war Germans who joined the Nazi regime were in a unique position to help guide Germany in as benign direction as possible? If not, what is the difference between the "safe AI" person who decides to join OpenAI and the anti-war, anti-racist German who decides to get a job in the Nazi government or military?

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#726

Post by abi »

imiric wrote: post #665

If anything has become clear after all this is that humanity is not ready for being the guardian of superintelligence. These are supposed to be the top masterminds behind one of the most influential technologies of our lifetime, and perhaps history, and yet they're all behaving like petty children, with egos and personal interests pulling in all directions, and everyone doing their best to secure their piece of the p…

Probably a hot take: we should let democratically elected leaders be the guardians of superintelligence. You don't need to be technical at all to grapple with the implications of AI on humanity. It's a humanity question, not a tech question.

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#727

Post by r3d0c »

fuzztester wrote: post #637
tspike wrote: post #544

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does this whole thing remind anyone else of the tech community’s version of celebrity gossip?

No. It reminds me more of Muddle [1] Ages' intrigue, scheming, and backstabbing, like the Medicis, Cesare Borgia and clan, Machiavelli (and his book The Prince, see Cesare again), etc., to take just one example. (Italy not being singled out here.) And also reminds me of all the effing feuding clans, dynasties, kingdoms, and empires down the centuries or millenia, since we came down from the trees. I guess galaxies ha…

just sounds like billionaire tech bros wanting to appear smarter and more important than they really are and a weird cult like obsession with AI at the expense of the rest of humanity even though AGI won't be possible for like a hundred or so years

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#728

Post by vadym909 »

hotnfresh wrote: post #447
neilv wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given 90%, including leadership, seems a bad career move for remaining people not to sign, even if you agreed with the board's action.

I think the board did the right thing, just waaaay too late for it to be effective. They’d been cut out long ago and just hadn’t realized it yet. … but I’d probably sign for exactly those good-career-move reasons, at this point. Going down with the ship isn’t even going to be noticed, let alone change anything.

The remaining 10% are probably on Thanksgiving break!

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#729

Post by RecycledEle »

Animats wrote: post #478
RecycledEle wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your are correct. OpenAI ai not prefect, but it's the best any of the major players here have. Nobody with Sam Altman's public personality does not want to be a Microsoft employee.

Check phrasing.

Thank You.

I meant to say "OpenAI is not prefect..."

Re: Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO

#730

Post by falserum »

paradite wrote: post #718
iteratethis wrote: post #705

I wish we could all just admit that this is a capital run, rather than some moralistic crusade. The employees want to get their big payday, so will follow Altman wherever he goes. Which is the smart thing to do anyway as he runs half the valley. The public discourse in which Sam is the hero is further cemented by the tech ecosystem, which nowadays is circling around AI. Those in the "OpenAI wrapper" game. Nobody has…

I wouldn't attribute to greed for something sufficiently explained by emotions and loyalty. Their CEO who was doing well as far as anyone can tell, was removed forcibly. It is natural to feel strongly about it.

Loyalty? I could believe closest colleagues, that were in constant contact. But 500… is a bit too much to hold any warmy feelly bonds. Greed is simpler explanation.
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