OpenAI staff threaten to quit unless board resigns

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 3:10 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #178

paulpan wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In hindsight firing Sam was a self-destructing gamble by the OpenAI board. Initially it seemed Sam may have committed some inexcusable financial crime but doesn't look so anymore. Irony is that if a significant portion of OpenAI staff opt to join Microsoft, then Microsoft essentially killed their own $13B investment in OpenAI earlier this year. Better than acquiring for $80B+ I suppose.

There's acquihires and then I guess there's acquifishing where you just gut the company you're after like a fish and hire away everyone without bothering to buy the company. There's probably a better portmanteau. I seriously doubt Microsoft is going to make people whole by granting equivalent RSUs, so you have to wonder what else is going on that so many seem ready to just up and leave some very large potential payda…

Post by WiseWeasel » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 3:10 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #178

paulpan wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In hindsight firing Sam was a self-destructing gamble by the OpenAI board. Initially it seemed Sam may have committed some inexcusable financial crime but doesn't look so anymore. Irony is that if a significant portion of OpenAI staff opt to join Microsoft, then Microsoft essentially killed their own $13B investment in OpenAI earlier this year. Better than acquiring for $80B+ I suppose.

There's acquihires and then I guess there's acquifishing where you just gut the company you're after like a fish and hire away everyone without bothering to buy the company. There's probably a better portmanteau. I seriously doubt Microsoft is going to make people whole by granting equivalent RSUs, so you have to wonder what else is going on that so many seem ready to just up and leave some very large potential payda…

Post by switch007 » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 3:11 PM UTC

jhh wrote: post #332

tarruda wrote: post #246

The whole thing starts to look like a coup orchestrated by Microsoft

Reasoning based on cui bono is a hallmark of conspiracy theories.

Post by gryn » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 3:13 PM UTC

bertil wrote: post #188

abraxas wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I seriously doubt this will work out for him. He has to be the smartest stupid person that the world has seen.

Ilya is hard to replace, and no one thinks of him as a political animal. He's a researcher first and foremost. I don't think he needs anything more than being contrite for a single decision made during a heated meeting. Sam Altman and the rest of the leadership team haven't got where they are by holding petty grudges. He doesn't owe us, the public, anything, but I would love to understand his point of view during the…

Post by ulfw » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 3:14 PM UTC

tedivm wrote: post #17

This was handled so very, very poorly. Frankly it's looking like Microsoft is going to come out of this better than anyone, especially if they end up getting almost 500 new AI staff out of it (staff that already function well as a team). > In their letter, the OpenAI staff threaten to join Altman at Microsoft. “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we…