Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 206 posts

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#31

Post by krisoft »

chx wrote: post #22
rramadass wrote: post #6

Finally! Somebody has said it plainly. Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself and his buddies making money off of true path-breaking researchers. "AI Trailblazer", "Helping Humanity with AGI" etc. was all bullshit.

There's plenty of bullshit going around. You can't convince me ChatGPT launching a few weeks within the collapse of FTX is a coincidence. The crypto hustle-scam is over, time for the next hype cycle. That's all there is .

> You can't convince me ChatGPT launching a few weeks within the collapse of FTX is a coincidence.

I don't want to convince you about anything. But what is the supposed connection between these?

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#32

Post by Tenoke »

'Let’s say we really do create AGI. Right now, if I’m doing a bad job with that, our board of directors, which is also not publicly accountable, can fire me and say, “Let’s try somebody else”.'

- Sam Altman, 2020

0. https://www.exponentialview.co/p/openais-identity-crisis-and...

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#33

Post by Obscurity4340 »

makingstuffs wrote: post #24

Complete tin hat theory here so do not take it as anything more than a hypothetical what if but… how do we know that the board weren’t secretly in receipt of an under the table payment to do exactly this? Again, complete hypothetical hyperbole, please do not take this as anything else.

Who watches the Politburo?

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#34

Post by Roark66 »

>But this weekend we saw perhaps saw another side to the 38-year-old, a flicker of arrogance that gave a glimpse as to the dynamic with OpenAI’s board of directors.(...) Altman took a moment to share a picture on social media of him holding a “guest” pass. “First and last time I ever wear one of these,” he wrote

Seriously? Does this pass for arrogance these days? I see nothing arrogant in a person sacked from a workplace, just to be invited on the next day for "consultations" stating this is the first and last time they come as a guest. How is one supposed to ensure one's negotiating position is taken seriously if one doesn't state it firmly?

I much prefer someone firmly stating what is it they want (including in position of power) than the alternative that seems to be various wishy-washy ways of making people think "we arrived at this decision together", "a consensus is x" and so on.

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#35

Post by helsinkiandrew »

rramadass wrote: post #6

Finally! Somebody has said it plainly. Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself and his buddies making money off of true path-breaking researchers. "AI Trailblazer", "Helping Humanity with AGI" etc. was all bullshit.

> Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself

But it couldn't have started that way surely? - why put in place a corporate structure, board, and profit cap that would limit that. I'm sure OpenAI could have got funding as a for profit concern that wouldn't have resulted in the current mess.

I wonder if the board - which presumably are still working under that "AI for humanity" principles could just stick to their guns, let the 550 unhappy employees go to Microsoft and continue researching/developing, perhaps at a slower rate.

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#37

Post by Emma_Goldman »

ulnarkressty wrote: post #25
rramadass wrote: post #6

Finally! Somebody has said it plainly. Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself and his buddies making money off of true path-breaking researchers. "AI Trailblazer", "Helping Humanity with AGI" etc. was all bullshit.

Successful CEO does successful CEO things. From another thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38360906

That Reddit thread[1], if genuine, seems to raise the probability that Altman is a through-and-through operator who has been actively politicking against the board to hijack OpenAI for his own commercial ends. The resonances with OpenAI are striking.

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the...

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#38

Post by moron4hire »

rramadass wrote: post #6

Finally! Somebody has said it plainly. Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself and his buddies making money off of true path-breaking researchers. "AI Trailblazer", "Helping Humanity with AGI" etc. was all bullshit.

Seriously, this is the guy whose claim to fame was, "I got scurvy while running my first startup." Talk about, "do hard things". You basically have to literally eat nothing but instant ramen noodles.

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#39

Post by jacquesm »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #35
rramadass wrote: post #6

Finally! Somebody has said it plainly. Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself and his buddies making money off of true path-breaking researchers. "AI Trailblazer", "Helping Humanity with AGI" etc. was all bullshit.

> Sam Altman is merely another "Tech Executive" out for himself But it couldn't have started that way surely? - why put in place a corporate structure, board, and profit cap that would limit that. I'm sure OpenAI could have got funding as a for profit concern that wouldn't have resulted in the current mess. I wonder if the board - which presumably are still working under that "AI for humanity" principles could just s…

> why put in place a corporate structure, board, and profit cap that would limit that.

I'm going to take a stab at that: it's a pre-emptive move to ensure that regulators won't step in to limit what the company can do and to do an end-run around anybody that might claim they're just in it for the money. That way they get to eat their cake and have it too: pursue all of the commercial potential while having a fig leaf to hide behind in case a regulator thinks the company is becoming too powerful.

And by stuffing the board with nobodies they may have thought that they could effectively control the board. And that opened the door to the present day shitshow, which is a mixture of good intentions but a lack of experience and classic powerplay by someone who does know what the rulebook says, but who misjudged the situation and the aftermath to a degree that is comical.

It also explains why there isn't a peep from the board (they've said less than their prospective new CEO who is the third such person in as many days).

Re: Sam Altman exposes the charade of AI accountability

#40

Post by footy »

Roark66 wrote: post #34

>But this weekend we saw perhaps saw another side to the 38-year-old, a flicker of arrogance that gave a glimpse as to the dynamic with OpenAI’s board of directors.(...) Altman took a moment to share a picture on social media of him holding a “guest” pass. “First and last time I ever wear one of these,” he wrote Seriously? Does this pass for arrogance these days? I see nothing arrogant in a person sacked from a workp…

Did you see the face he was making in the picture? I'm not sure I would have initially picked the word _arrogant_ as much as _unpleasant_, but I think both fit (and arrogant is more descriptive).
Post reply on HN