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"King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

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Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#151

Post by jwoq9118 »

sigmoid10 wrote: post #55
luma wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why just CEOs? Should I, as an individual contributor, be encouraged to hold down several jobs so that I can split my time and attention between them?

Thanks to covid and the remote work revolution, this has actually become a very real scenario for many people working in tech. Of course this also further exposes Altman's hypocrisy, as he is one of the stronger proponents of the "return to office" movement. So he obviously doesn't want his employees doing the exact same thing he does himself.

Im convinced RTO makes sense in some specific highly collaborative scenarios but overall seems to be an effort in pushing for more control

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#152

Post by jwoq9118 »

spacecadet wrote: post #29
echelon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some CEOs would get fired for moonlighting. Others (Elon Musk, etc) build massive companies and make their existing companies more resilient and lasting. I don't get why more CEO/founders don't found second and third companies. You build a great leadership team, then explore adjacent spaces that can reinforce your vision of the future. In a way, it can clear the space of potential competitors. Or build potential cu…

I actually agree. While I more or less detest Musk and Dorsey, I do also appreciate as you put it, that they were able to build a leadership teams that can run the business while they go and about acting as the face of the business. Unfortunately I don't think they have succeeded fully at this, because to me their public image has now started to hurt their businesses...

Detest them for what?

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#153

Post by jjtheblunt »

selimthegrim wrote: post #66
jaggs wrote: post #51

Wow, what a lovely puff piece. Known as a 'rehabilitator' in PR circles. The conversation: Sama: "I'm getting a bit of knock-back over my management style from various sources." PR Co: "No worries, we'll run a Premium PR package to restore your reputation. A couple of nice pieces in the WashPo and other places and you're good to go." Sama: "Great. Invoice me."

PG even wrote about how to recognize these.

https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#154

Post by CPLX »

tptacek wrote: post #98
samstave wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I care in that we are at one of the historic inflection points in tech history - so I waant a very salient truth as to what decisions (and by whom) are steering what is going to be the next era in the information age. I love it. So, what I care about is a true lens into how we will be getting to the next step in the path. Thats all I care about... And obviously SA is a master at ensuring the engineers in his harem ar…

I do a lot of local politics work now, which means I pay attention to a lot of arguments that are isomorphic to these HN kinds of arguments, but that are about zoning or the kind of materials we're using to pave roads or whatever. This thread resembles to me nothing so much as the vibe in a debate about whether a neighboring municipality should be allowed to build a McDonalds right on our border. Strong opinions all…

Of course you have a say. Many policies are made above the municipal level, and California is a good example of a place where people eventually got tired of not having a say in zoning decisions of neighboring municipalities and did something about it.

And beyond a direct say any person of course can be an advocate for anything. And should be, if it affects their society.

Not sure you meant to make the exact opposite point of the one you stated, but convincing people they don't have a say, when in fact they do, is a pretty longstanding trick of the ruling class, so perhaps you've been convinced as well.

Or are part of the ruling class.

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#155

Post by ethbr1 »

freedomben wrote: post #109
jampekka wrote: post #74

Weird CEO cult going on again. Per the article Altman created this and that. In reality thousands of people created the stuff. Altman mostly did some management and marketing.

We sure love our CEO cults in the startup tech world. I don't understand why we give credit like that for people that high in the management chain, but we sure do.

Because there are two kinds of people.

(1) People who have actually worked in large tech / engineering companies, and implicitly understand that 'CEO' is a analogy for (the organization)

(2) People who have no idea how the sausage is made, and need things simplified down to one person

The former aren't misdirected, because they know the game. And the latter probably couldn't wrap their heads around the truth, even if it were explained to them.

So I'm not sure anyone who could plausibly understand otherwise is confused by the hero worship.

Except for new graduates... they're probably misunderstanding.

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#156

Post by ethbr1 »

pixelatedindex wrote: post #41
ethbr1 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently, but family drama feels a bit... weird to use for character assessment. Especially when a ton of money is involved. There are a lot of inter-family dynamics and motivations that cause people to do things. Not saying she's right. Not saying he's right. Just saying that whole situation is probably too close to home (literally) to opine globally outside it.

I am conflicted about that. When money is involved I think it amplifies character even more. Not everyone with a ton of money has these kinds of allegations.

My guess is that a lot of families with money have these kinds of allegations, true or not.

Money just usually changes hands to make sure we never hear about them.

People are fundamentally people, and all do the same sorts of things. And the line between "highly successful businessperson" and "sociopath" is pretty fine.

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#157

Post by samstave »

CPLX wrote: post #154
tptacek wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do a lot of local politics work now, which means I pay attention to a lot of arguments that are isomorphic to these HN kinds of arguments, but that are about zoning or the kind of materials we're using to pave roads or whatever. This thread resembles to me nothing so much as the vibe in a debate about whether a neighboring municipality should be allowed to build a McDonalds right on our border. Strong opinions all…

Of course you have a say. Many policies are made above the municipal level, and California is a good example of a place where people eventually got tired of not having a say in zoning decisions of neighboring municipalities and did something about it. And beyond a direct say any person of course can be an advocate for anything. And should be, if it affects their society. Not sure you meant to make the exact opposite…

I came up with a term for the type of argument OP is making 'Astro-Gasing'

Astro-turfing/Gaslighting at the same time:

"The act of one or many to feign as though they dont care, and there is nothing to worry about, or what one can do - so just go along with it, when eventually the truth is revealed that there was in fact something to worry about - the astro-gassers stood to benefit from your complacency." Whether Thomas realizes it or not - he is in this class.

Further, there is an entire new city being bought-up, planned and developed in the greater Bay Area as a new tech-city. I 100% gaurantee you, it will be riddled with AI 'living augmentations'... its being built by the technorati in SV. It will be interesting to see how that builds out.

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#158

Post by ethbr1 »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #53
spacecadet wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually agree. While I more or less detest Musk and Dorsey, I do also appreciate as you put it, that they were able to build a leadership teams that can run the business while they go and about acting as the face of the business. Unfortunately I don't think they have succeeded fully at this, because to me their public image has now started to hurt their businesses...

IDK supposedly executives are paid to be on top of things, be responsible if they go south (but boards and golden parachutes protect them), and work however many hours it takes to make the important decisions. So if their time is divided then my guess is they won't be doing it very well. If they are all face and PR then perhaps AI will replace them.

IMHO, this is the difference between the Berkshire Hathaway model and the Apple model.

Good leaders should probably invest a lot of time in developing a deep and talented pipeline of other good leaders, so that the current leader can be replaced.

Bad (but still effective) leaders leave the company flying off the edge of a cliff without a successor when they exit. Usually because they played politics and blocked anyone's rise who could challenge them. (See: PLO)

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#159

Post by DonHopkins »

mcpackieh wrote: post #77
dbspin wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Altman's sister's 'memories' of abuse were developed in adulthood [1]. Recovered memories are deeply suspect, and a number of serious miscarriages of justice have happened because of them. Most infamously the 'satanic panic' trials of the eighties and early nineties. Elizabeth Loftus has done lots of good work on the dubious nature of eyewitness testimony, and recovered memories in particular [3]. Essentially, they'r…

So let me get this straight, your training as a psychoanalyst qualifies you to discredit a woman's testimony, despite you never having met with her? How wonderful. By the way, have you read this? > Today, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) reiterates its continued and unwavering commitment to the ethical principle known as "The Goldwater Rule." We at the APA call for an end to psychiatrists providing professi…

[flagged]

Re: "King of the Cannibals": How Sam Altman Took over Silicon Valley

#160

Post by ignoramous »

nox100 wrote: post #125
api wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For hosted models I’ve noticed that Bard has been quietly improving. Was awful at first but now seems to be closing in. Actually-open AI with open weights and open source is innovating rapidly too, especially when it comes to making models more efficient on smaller hardware. We have fast local mixtures of experts now. Rumor is that Llama3 is training as well, and that it may be some kind of MoE. I feel like focusing…

I've definitely seen Bard beat ChatGPT once in a while. I don't use bard much but when ChatGPT gives me an answer I know is wrong I go see if Bard did any better and yes, sometimes Bard is better, not often enough for me to switch ... yet?

I increasingly find myself using pplx.ai, phind, and bard; never chatgpt.
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