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

OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

341–350 of 1001 posts

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#341

Post by chipgap98 »

ilaksh wrote: post #237

I am not sure it really makes sense for the investors to continue with OpenAI. It seems like this incident proved that the constitution of the company wasn't really compatible with a profit focus. It was a split from the beginning, and obviously a questionable arrangement. It just came to a head to make it obvious. The business and investment people want to make money. Many of the researchers want to take their time…

1. There is so much momentum around OpenAI that it would be tough to walk away 2. I imagine they could find a better way to setup governance so the nonprofit entity still exists but the for profit entity has a bit more autonomy

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#342

Post by himaraya »

shmatt wrote: post #295
xianshou wrote: post #214

Whether you side with Sam or Ilya on rollout speed and approach to safety, the breathtaking incompetence of this coup has already incinerated a stunning amount of trust. One could hardly ask for a better demonstration that it matters not only what you do and why , but also how - above all, how you treat the ones who rely on you.

How is this a coup? The board is the CEOs boss. If that’s not true then they should have chosen a different corporate structure

It's a boardroom coup. Two-thirds of the board unilaterally fired the other third.

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#343

Post by dehrmann »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #54

You know, I always found Mike judge to probably be the most prescient of all of the science fiction authors. In Office Space, Idiocracy, and most relevant here in Silicon Valley; he accurately, and very precisely not only forecasts, but deconstructs the reasoning, and vapid lack of core philosophy behind each of the real life narratives he’s parodying. That serious people still consider Silicon Valley as some kind of…

Did you intentionally omit Beavis and Butt-Head from your list of his iconic works? They captured the mood of a generation.

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#344

Post by chipgap98 »

shmatt wrote: post #295
xianshou wrote: post #214

Whether you side with Sam or Ilya on rollout speed and approach to safety, the breathtaking incompetence of this coup has already incinerated a stunning amount of trust. One could hardly ask for a better demonstration that it matters not only what you do and why , but also how - above all, how you treat the ones who rely on you.

How is this a coup? The board is the CEOs boss. If that’s not true then they should have chosen a different corporate structure

The fact that the Chairman of the board was not included in the decision is a pretty big indicator

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#346

Post by sebzim4500 »

caturopath wrote: post #120
brigadier132 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet it was multifaceted. By firing Sam this way they nuked their ability to raise funds because anyone investing in the "for profit" subsidiary would have to do so with the understanding that the non-profit could undermine them at a whim. Also, all the employees are being paid with PPUs which is a share in future profits, and now they find out that actually, the company doesn't care about making profit! A lot of to…

> they nuked their ability to raise funds I think this well is deeper than you're giving it credit for.

Sure but it would be at a much, much lower valuation.

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#347

Post by icelancer »

abi wrote: post #190
tysam_and wrote: post #33

It could be that Microsoft is leveraging them to bring him back. This board may seem mercurial at the moment, but we really, truly, and honestly still do not have the big picture yet.

How are they leveraging them? My understanding is Microsoft has no power over the board.

Contracts are only worth their language if parties are willing to fight for them. Taking on Microsoft and hoards of angry billionaires with a piece of paper separating you from them might be more of a war than they expected.

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#348

Post by brandall10 »

statictype wrote: post #232
Jensson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hope Sam comes back Why? We would have more diversity in this space if he leaves, which would get us another AI startup with huge funding and know how from OpenAI, while OpenAI would become less Sam Altman like. I think him staying is bad for the field overall compared to OpenAI splitting in two.

How much of OpenAI’s success can you attribute to sama’s leadership and how much to the technical achievements of those who work under him. My understanding is that OpenAI’s biggest advantage is that they recruited and attracted the best in the field, presumably under the charter of providing AI for everyone. Not sure that sama and gdb starting their own company in the same space will produce similar results.

But sama and gdb were largely instrumental in that recruitment.

The whole open vs closed ai thing... the fact is Pandora's box is open now, it's shown to have an outsized impact on society and 2 of the 3 founders responsible for that may be starting a new company that won't be shackled by the same type of corporate governance.

SV will happily throw as much $$ as possible in their direction. The exodus from OpenAi has already begun, and other researchers who are of the mindset that this needs to be commercialized as fast as possible while having an eye on safety will happily come on board, esp. given how much they stand to gain financially.

Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

#349

Post by dkarras »

>The Information reported that Altman was already meeting with investors to raise funds for such a project. One source close to Altman said that both options remained possible. “I think he truly wants the best outcome,” said the person. “He doesn’t want to see lives destroyed.”

Lives destroyed? This is either a reporting error or is a very weird thing to say. Unless the source insinuates that Altman is willing to destroy the world with a cruel AGI if he doesn't get his way.

Post reply on HN