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Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

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Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#421

Post by mrkramer »

imjonse wrote: post #411
mrkramer wrote: post #402

Why would Sam Altman be held as someone irreplaceable....the dude seems like a smart guy but c'mon he is not Jobs or Gates. I remember first time hearing him when he interviewed Zuck about Facebook and entrepreneurship (when he worked for Y Combinator). Now we talk about him as the next Gates or Jobs. I think this was one big marketing stunt from OpenAI, now the whole software and business community talks about them.…

He probably has powerful connections beyond SV. He and Greg Brockman have been meeting heads of state and he has been fundraising in the Middle East recently. I wouldn't be surprised if he is sold as representing US interests, hence few dare to criticize him openly.

He surely has connections in SV(he was even a Reddit CEO for a short time) but he has connections in the politics too as far as I can tell. He is representing US interests? Fine. OpenAI is an American company. This was one big marketing stunt, a balloon to see how the AI community would react. OpenAI is the innovator but the future AI innovations will happen somewhere else, that's what history of innovations teaches us. I remember when Elon said the Google is the biggest threat when it comes to AI, then he founded and funded OpenAI and now here we are.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#422

Post by quickthrower2 »

whatshisface wrote: post #390
tempaccount420 wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, when you fire people, have a clear reason for it. Not being "consistently candid" is not that.

You want companies to post the reasons for every firing on Twitter?

Not regular employees. Twitter is one method of communication.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#423

Post by pinewurst »

Arson9416 wrote: post #340

Step 1: Dazzle an influential person Step 2: Persuade them to hitch their reputation to you Step 3: Do whatever you want with minimal repercussions Follow these 3 steps and influential people will actively fight on your behalf, against their own best interests, to avoid embarrassing themselves and diminishing their reputations. Use each influential person as a stepping stone to an even more influential person and rep…

That's how Jeffrey Epstein made it, starting with Les Wexner.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#424

Post by quickthrower2 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #419
Arson9416 wrote: post #340

Step 1: Dazzle an influential person Step 2: Persuade them to hitch their reputation to you Step 3: Do whatever you want with minimal repercussions Follow these 3 steps and influential people will actively fight on your behalf, against their own best interests, to avoid embarrassing themselves and diminishing their reputations. Use each influential person as a stepping stone to an even more influential person and rep…

I have hung out on HN for over 14 years and took a personal interest in "How in the heck did a pretty young woman co-found a company with three men, date one of them and not have this turn into a debacle and scandal in the headlines???" It took quite a few years for the details behind the founding of YC to come out: 1. Jessica Livingston did not co-found a company with three random men. 2. She and Paul Graham were da…

That is quite a wild conclusion to jump to. What evidence or clues lead you to that.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#425

Post by yieldcrv »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #419
Arson9416 wrote: post #340

Step 1: Dazzle an influential person Step 2: Persuade them to hitch their reputation to you Step 3: Do whatever you want with minimal repercussions Follow these 3 steps and influential people will actively fight on your behalf, against their own best interests, to avoid embarrassing themselves and diminishing their reputations. Use each influential person as a stepping stone to an even more influential person and rep…

I have hung out on HN for over 14 years and took a personal interest in "How in the heck did a pretty young woman co-found a company with three men, date one of them and not have this turn into a debacle and scandal in the headlines???" It took quite a few years for the details behind the founding of YC to come out: 1. Jessica Livingston did not co-found a company with three random men. 2. She and Paul Graham were da…

Good observations, a bit of a stretch,

regarding scandal and not scandal, real life doesnt follow rigid ideas of “the power dynamics are too extreme for this relationship to exist”

that’s just tabloid drama

people can be objective mature partners that met on the job where one was an executive and the other doing something menial

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#427

Post by turzmo »

tom_ wrote: post #305
lhnz wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? It seems like a glowing appraisal. He seems to think that Sam is devestatingly effective at what he does.

If I didn't know Graham was English, perhaps I would take them at face value - and, indeed, perhaps I should anyway. (And my characterisation was an extreme one!) But: they do just all sound rather coldly backhanded, if you ask me.

American, but I read PG's tweets as someone who absolutely does not want to piss off Sam but is willing to come close to the edge of plausible deniability in damning him, e.g.:

> The most alarming thing I've read about AI in recent memory. And if Sam thinks this, it's probably true, because he's an expert in both AI and persuasion.

There certainly isn't the paternal warmth you might expect from a proud mentor.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#428

Post by dchung333 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #419
Arson9416 wrote: post #340

Step 1: Dazzle an influential person Step 2: Persuade them to hitch their reputation to you Step 3: Do whatever you want with minimal repercussions Follow these 3 steps and influential people will actively fight on your behalf, against their own best interests, to avoid embarrassing themselves and diminishing their reputations. Use each influential person as a stepping stone to an even more influential person and rep…

I have hung out on HN for over 14 years and took a personal interest in "How in the heck did a pretty young woman co-found a company with three men, date one of them and not have this turn into a debacle and scandal in the headlines???" It took quite a few years for the details behind the founding of YC to come out: 1. Jessica Livingston did not co-found a company with three random men. 2. She and Paul Graham were da…

Huh the things I heard about Altman a long time before was that he was a couch surfer at YCombinator.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#429

Post by nothrowaways »

tom_ wrote: post #251
lhnz wrote: post #42

If Paul Graham fired Sam Altman from YCombinator it's interesting that he appears to have such a favourable opinion of him [0]. However, personally, what I've taken away from this is that he is a much better strategic/tactical operator than many other high-flying executives and very capable of winning the respect and trust of a lot of smart people. I wouldn't expect OpenAI to be run by anybody that wasn't revered in…

I dunno, man. As an English person, to me these tweets sound a lot like he is publicly calling Altman a cunt.

I read it like so.

Re: Before OpenAI, Sam Altman was fired from Y Combinator by his mentor

#430

Post by quickthrower2 »

bobsmooth wrote: post #378
Arson9416 wrote: post #340

Step 1: Dazzle an influential person Step 2: Persuade them to hitch their reputation to you Step 3: Do whatever you want with minimal repercussions Follow these 3 steps and influential people will actively fight on your behalf, against their own best interests, to avoid embarrassing themselves and diminishing their reputations. Use each influential person as a stepping stone to an even more influential person and rep…

Tips on step 2?

Helps if you make a good prebirth choice to be born into wealth, influence
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