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Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

businessinsider.com

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Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#601

Post by jfoster »

doktrin wrote: post #534
jfoster wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen this mentioned a few times, but is this true? I could swear I've heard him mention that he uses ChatGPT for programming stuff. He might not be a super technical software engineer, but is he "non-technical" in that he can't even write some simple python or something equivalent?

> He might not be a super technical software engineer, but is he "non-technical" in that he can't even write some simple python or something equivalent? 1. that's a very low bar, almost to the point of making any distinction meaningless 2. imho, "technical" and "non-technical" are context dependent, and not intrinsic human qualities. Speaking for myself : I'm a technical individual contributor on my current team, but…

OK, so what's the bar by which Altman would be considered "non-technical"?

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#603

Post by ben_w »

sackfield wrote: post #561
threeseed wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is absolutely just you. Almost everyone would prefer not to have repeats of Enron, FTX etc where poor corporate governance and unethical behaviour is tolerated just because the company is making lots of money.

I'm not sure OpenAI compares to Enron or FTX in terms of unethical behaviour or financial fraud. The only similarities might be, funnily enough, disfunctional boards (or in FTX's case, no board).

If OpenAI gets as far with AI as they want to, then it is absolutely imperative that nobody there is accidentally leaning on the scales, let alone actually doing anything (even something minor) with selfish intent.

Even if they're "just another tech firm", that's still enough for them to be another Facebook with the Cambridge Analytica and Rohingya scandals, and many people would like to make sure such things don't repeat.

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#604

Post by the_real_cher »

threeseed wrote: post #557
the_real_cher wrote: post #473

This seems disingenuous on her part. Almost the entire company was posting hearts on X in support of Sam. The essence if her claim is they were doing that for their stock options? Cynical take to me.

She discussed this in the podcast. Apparently, Sam has a vindictive streak and those who were critical of them were scared not to be on the wrong side of him if the situation turned in his favour. And they were right. Which is why the smart move was to keep quiet and then just leave later. Hence all of the resignations.

hundreds of employees a voiced their support for Sam.

I'm not saying you're wrong but it seems like a little bit of a stretch.

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#606

Post by ben_w »

ZiiS wrote: post #538
dantyti wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to say that your comment reads like you are justifying unethical behavior from a major business figure. I mean, saying that a CEO who acts with no qualms re accountability "a saint" really begs the question: how does the boot taste like?

Not at all. I am saying that centralising the amount of power OpenAI has is inherently antisocial. If you have done it so the average person uses the qualifier "a bit of" you are extraordinarily gifted.

Ironically, the same reason to care about even very minor misalignment in a powerful AI.

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#607

Post by sackfield »

ben_w wrote: post #603
sackfield wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure OpenAI compares to Enron or FTX in terms of unethical behaviour or financial fraud. The only similarities might be, funnily enough, disfunctional boards (or in FTX's case, no board).

If OpenAI gets as far with AI as they want to, then it is absolutely imperative that nobody there is accidentally leaning on the scales, let alone actually doing anything (even something minor) with selfish intent. Even if they're "just another tech firm", that's still enough for them to be another Facebook with the Cambridge Analytica and Rohingya scandals, and many people would like to make sure such things don't r…

We should feel great that they now have a competent board that will make sure of that.

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#608

Post by bookaway »

admissionsguy wrote: post #533
MrSkelter wrote: post #528

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The board is working with the assumption the CEO isn’t a liar. Altman is a classic sociopath, a T-1000 to Musk’s clunky T-800. OpenAI is fated to implode in scandal. His 7 trillion dollar funding round ambition is a blaring siren to anyone with a working brain that he’s out of control and capable of doing real damage. He wants a sum of money that could crash the world economy. He thinks he should have the power of th…

Just to be clear - Musk’s crimes are single-handedly turning the US into the leader in EV and space industries, calling one guy a „pedo” and standing trial for it, and supporting the political side that you don’t like?

> calling one guy a „pedo”

Yes, and just to be clear -- That one guy was a diver who put his life at risk to save trapped children from an underwater cave, a rescue operation in the span of which a Thai Navy Seal actually died. Furthermore, Musk went on record stating that he had took a further step of hiring a private investigator to dig up dirt on the guy, not before he called the guy a pedo, but after when the reality of getting sued began to sink in.

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#609

Post by ben_w »

sackfield wrote: post #607
ben_w wrote: post #603

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If OpenAI gets as far with AI as they want to, then it is absolutely imperative that nobody there is accidentally leaning on the scales, let alone actually doing anything (even something minor) with selfish intent. Even if they're "just another tech firm", that's still enough for them to be another Facebook with the Cambridge Analytica and Rohingya scandals, and many people would like to make sure such things don't r…

We should feel great that they now have a competent board that will make sure of that.

The models get red-teamed, do the corporate structures?

Re: Ex-OpenAI board member reveals what led to Sam Altman's brief ousting

#610

Post by jeffrallen »

huevosabio wrote: post #205
light_triad wrote: post #191

The whole saga is an interesting case study for theoretical versus real power. On paper the board has the power and it’s their job to monitor and hire/fire the execs. But they’re dependent on the execs for info. Also having one investor own half, plus the founders guiding the roadmap and having sway over key hires leaving is where the real power is…

From A Song of Ice and Fire: ``` Varys smiled. “Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.” “So power is a mummer’s trick?” “A shadow on the wall,” Varys murmured, “yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.” ```

If you have ever been responsible for managing the security of your team in the face of rumors, this conversation rings of truth.

The humanitarian organization I worked for eradicated every last small-head US dollar from circulation in our salary payments in 24 hours because the staff brought us a rumour that was circulating in the market that small-head dollars would not be accepted by the banks anymore.

Rumors can kill (literally, or maybe if you're lucky, only morale).

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