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Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

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Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#511
post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Building products on top of their platform and then getting mad that they continue to add and improve said platform with additional functionality (without knowing their product roadmap in advance) seems petty. If they’re able to eat their customers lunch so quickly, it’s because the customers are building very thin and weak businesses with no actual innovation.

I mean, basically no-one can compete with OpenAI right now. They have a monopoly. They can start copying any business that relies on them tomorrow. And it’s not easy to build a better model. Do that’s not an option. So you basically use them to deliver a tangential product woth the risk of them copying you, or refuse to play in AI. You can’t innovate with OpenAI tech without risking that they’ll just copy you It’s th…

There’s a difference between a true monopoly and first mover advantage. There is competition in AI, it’s just behind.

I agree on the risk of building on them, but then again any business has its risks.

My main point was that some of these first AI startups built on Open AI were always going to be eaten by them because the put themselves in the way of open AIs roadmap. I don’t believe the Amazon comparison yet, although they may eventually go down the copycat path. But many of these startups that were recently made obsolete were just trying to piggyback on the real innovation that is the GPTss.

I’m very happy with GPT 4 and the newest updates, it’s a great tool for me.

Disruption will always been painful for some and the frothyness around AI and fear of missing out is making people a little more cynical than is healthy, IMO.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, basically no-one can compete with OpenAI right now. They have a monopoly. They can start copying any business that relies on them tomorrow. And it’s not easy to build a better model. Do that’s not an option. So you basically use them to deliver a tangential product woth the risk of them copying you, or refuse to play in AI. You can’t innovate with OpenAI tech without risking that they’ll just copy you It’s th…

I spent a year and half a million dollars with two ex-Mina engineers from Google and we simply lack the funds and information superiority to compete with OpenAI on any level. And VCs are running scared to go against the big players because they simply Dont have the funds. It’s really grim out there. But I guess I’m just a whiner according to this dude. The reality is that anything that works is quickly snatched up by…

Wow, that’s a really sad situation. Must be difficult for you. Good luck buddy, will be awaiting to see you build your own model.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nathan says the initial version of GPT-4 he red-teamed was "totally amoral" and it was happy to plan assassinations for him: https://nitter.net/labenz/status/1727327464328954121#m Reducing the cost of medical transcription to ~$0 is one thing. Reducing the cost of assassination to ~$0 is quite another.

The cost of planning an assassination is not the same thing as the cost (and risk) of carrying out an assassination, what a stupid take.

There's been a fair amount of research into hooking up LLMs with the ability to call APIs, browse the web, and even control robots, no? The barrier between planning and doing is not a hard one.

As for cost and risk -- ask GPT-5 how to minimize it. As Nathan said in his thread, it's not about this generation, it's about the next generation of models.

A key question is whether the control problem gets more difficult as the model gets stronger. GPT-4 appears to be self-aware and passing the mirror test: https://nitter.net/AISafetyMemes/status/1729206394547581168#...

I really don't know how to interpret that link, but I think there is a lot we don't understand which is going on in those billions of parameters. Understanding it fully might be just as hard as understanding the human brain.

I'm concerned that at some point in the training process, we will stumble across a subset of parameters which are both self-aware and self-interested, too. There are a lot of self-interested people in the world. It wouldn't be surprising if the AI learns to do the sort of internal computation that a self-interested person's brain does -- perhaps just to make predictions about the actions of self-interested people, at first. From there it could be a small jump to computations which are able to manipulate the model's training process in order to achieve self-preservation. (Presumably, the data which the model is trained on includes explanations of "gradient descent" and related concepts.)

This might sound far-fetched by the standard of the current model generation. But we're talking about future generations of models here, which almost by definition will exhibit more powerful intelligence and manifest it in new unexpected ways. "The model will be much more powerful, but also unable to understand itself, self-interest, or gradient descent" doesn't quite compute.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#514
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why doesn't the government do it for them, fining them along the way?

I have no idea how it will all play out, but I will be shocked if there is no government investigation coming out of all this.

Yea, it seems really weird that he and others can just form a non-profit and then later have it own a for-profit with the full intention of turning everything into a for-profit enterprise. Seems like tax evasion and a few other violations of what a non-profit is supposed to be.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#515
post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nathan says the initial version of GPT-4 he red-teamed was "totally amoral" and it was happy to plan assassinations for him: https://nitter.net/labenz/status/1727327464328954121#m Reducing the cost of medical transcription to ~$0 is one thing. Reducing the cost of assassination to ~$0 is quite another.

> Reducing the cost of assassination to ~$0 is quite another. It is reducing the cost of developing an assassination plan from ~$0 to ~$0. The cost of actually executing the plan itself is not affected.

See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38470768

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#516

Who is driving the company (companies)? Certainly not the board, when it can be ousted on the whim of one person. Might as well just get rid of the board (all boards in this organization) as any decision made can be overthrown by a bit of publicity and ego. Perhaps it about getting rich at the expense of any ethics? Those who work for this company should bear this in mind, they are all expendable!

[deleted]

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#517

Who is driving the company (companies)? Certainly not the board, when it can be ousted on the whim of one person. Might as well just get rid of the board (all boards in this organization) as any decision made can be overthrown by a bit of publicity and ego. Perhaps it about getting rich at the expense of any ethics? Those who work for this company should bear this in mind, they are all expendable!

The reason the CEO could oust the board like that was that after the board fired the CEO, 720 of the 770 employees of the company got together and signed a pledge that they will all leave unless the CEO is reinstated and the board fired. This was the purest example of labor democracy and self-organization in action in the United States I have ever seen, my takeaway is rather the opposite of "they are all expendable".…

> This was the purest example of labor democracy and self-organization in action in the United States I have ever seen

This was not an anonymised vote giving the chance to safely support what you believe free from interference... this was to declare for the King or the Revolution knowing that if don't choose who prevails, you will be executed. It becomes a measure of which direction the people believe the wind is blowing rather than a moral judgement. Power becomes about how a minority can coerce/cajole the impression of inevitability not the merit of their arguments.

I will be curious to hear the inside story once the window of retribution has passed. Unions hold proper private ballots not this type of suss politicking.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nathan says the initial version of GPT-4 he red-teamed was "totally amoral" and it was happy to plan assassinations for him: https://nitter.net/labenz/status/1727327464328954121#m Reducing the cost of medical transcription to ~$0 is one thing. Reducing the cost of assassination to ~$0 is quite another.

This is a piece of software. What would "totally amoral" even mean here? It's an inanimate object, it has no morals, feelings, conscience, etc... He gives it an amoral input, he gets an amoral output.

I mean, there's a sense in which my mind is software that's being run by my brain, right? Yet that doesn't absolve me of moral responsibility.

In any case, an F16 fighter jet is amoral in a certain sense, but it wouldn't be smart to make F16s available to the average Joe so he can conduct an airstrike whenever he wants.

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reeks of CEO speak; general bullshit that seems to go against all practical reasoning of the situation. Don't fall for it.

this is probably a chatgpt prompt starting with "I am VC Bro, write a letter as I come back as CEO and thank everyone who was involved in the stabbing, and dont forget to use cliche stuff like turn a crisis into an opportunity"

Here's what ChatGPT 4 (paid version) responded with for that exact prompt:

---

Subject: Embracing New Horizons Together

Dear Team,

As I resume my role as CEO, I am filled with gratitude and renewed vigor. The recent challenges we faced were not mere setbacks, but stepping stones that have strengthened our resolve and unity.

I want to extend my deepest appreciation to each one of you who stood by me and our company during these testing times. Your unwavering support was not just a lifeline; it was a powerful testament to our collective strength and dedication.

This experience has not only been a learning curve but also a vivid reminder of the incredible potential we possess as a team. We turned a crisis into a golden opportunity, showcasing resilience and adaptability that are hallmarks of our company culture.

As we move forward, let's harness this momentum to propel us towards new heights. Our journey ahead is filled with possibilities, and together, we will continue to innovate, disrupt, and lead.

Thank you for your steadfast commitment and for believing in our vision. Here's to turning challenges into triumphs and continuing our journey of excellence.

Warm regards,

[Your Name] CEO [Your Company]

Re: Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board

#520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "unwilling to divulge company secrets" is the best explanation here. We know that OpenAI does a staged release for their models with pre-release red-teaming. Helen says the key issue was the board struggling to "effectively supervise the company": https://nitter.net/hlntnr/status/1730034017435586920#m Here's Nathan Labenz on how sketchy the red-teaming process for GPT4 was. Nathan states that OpenAI shut him…

So what is Nathan Labenz saying? That GPT-4 is dangerous somehow? It will get many people out of jobs? MS Office got all the typists out of jobs. OCR and Medical Software got all the medical transcriptionists out of jobs. And they created a lot more jobs in the process. GPT-4 is a very powerful tool. It has not a whiff of AGI in it. The whole AGI "scare" seems to be extremely political.

FWIW I had a doctor's appointment just this year with a transcriptionist present. (USA)
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