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OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

reuters.com

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Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#51

Post by superultra »

This felt inevitable which is why it’s not front page everywhere. It also doesn’t help that we’re in a bit of a lull with AI. I was with friends who don’t work in tech and AI came up in conversation at dinner. The general consensus is that AI is kinda dumb but it does a great job helping everyone write nicer emails.

But I don’t think I’m being alarmist when I say that this moment, when the altruistic ideals get suddenly pushed to the side, may be the moment noted in history books before whatever it is that this leads us to happens. I don’t mean evil machines are next, but I do think it’s a cotton gin, telegram over the ocean, light bulb, AARPNET moment. Maybe even more impactful than those. Manhattan project? TBD I guess.

Which is why I believe we’ll regret that we didn’t move slower or enforce more collective stop gaps behind the unbridled force of capitalism and the public goodwill. I’m not a doomsayer but you can’t tell me something isn’t up when this much money is involved.

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#52

Post by Spacecosmonaut »

jarbus wrote: post #17

This has been an insane, slow, public descent into everything they promised not to do, it’s so crazy to have seen people inside try to stop it

Its a bit much to ask for people, in the face of such exceptional wealth prospects, to stay steadfast in their initial commitment.

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#53

Post by limit499karma »

Spacecosmonaut wrote: post #52
jarbus wrote: post #17

This has been an insane, slow, public descent into everything they promised not to do, it’s so crazy to have seen people inside try to stop it

Its a bit much to ask for people, in the face of such exceptional wealth prospects, to stay steadfast in their initial commitment.

Excuse me but what sort of bullshit is this?

Anyone with sufficient intellectual power to grok building AI must be fully aware of the monetization value of the same. If you are navel gazing over AIG taking over humanity you must first step through the stage were capital and AI couple up.

So it is not too much to ask since others who also were aware of the inherent unwanted social distortions that was entirely predictable were relying on these individuals and "non-profit" organizations to actually live up to their claims.

As it is, it seems like a thinly disguised propaganda to recruit and benefit from altruistic and capable workers in the field to then have Sam Altman (and whoever is behind him $$$) to parachute and take over and say "oh well, you can'tn expect people to be truthful and have principles! What are ya, a chump?"

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#54

Post by auggierose »

superultra wrote: post #51

This felt inevitable which is why it’s not front page everywhere. It also doesn’t help that we’re in a bit of a lull with AI. I was with friends who don’t work in tech and AI came up in conversation at dinner. The general consensus is that AI is kinda dumb but it does a great job helping everyone write nicer emails. But I don’t think I’m being alarmist when I say that this moment, when the altruistic ideals get sudde…

Would you have recommended moving slower to build the first atom bomb?

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#55

Post by limit499karma »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #8

It’s so weird that the person behind Loopt has now come fully in charge of this company and perverted its initial goals so completely. I’m still not clear on what Sam has accomplished or why he was put in charge of YC or OpenAI. Also apparently chairman of Helion Energy (fusion startup). Masterclass in failing up.

He is an effective bullshit artist with no moral restraint and capital behind the scene promotes and pushes him and his type as they are the perfect match for their role as "captains" of "industry". The 'building' of these fronts is a collaborative effort, with definitive media element of which even HN is likely included.

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#56

Post by consteval »

auggierose wrote: post #54
superultra wrote: post #51

This felt inevitable which is why it’s not front page everywhere. It also doesn’t help that we’re in a bit of a lull with AI. I was with friends who don’t work in tech and AI came up in conversation at dinner. The general consensus is that AI is kinda dumb but it does a great job helping everyone write nicer emails. But I don’t think I’m being alarmist when I say that this moment, when the altruistic ideals get sudde…

Would you have recommended moving slower to build the first atom bomb?

Yes. We used those bombs for evil beyond our comprehension.

I encourage all Americans to further research Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Our propaganda has told us our war crimes were completely justified, but a more neutral historical analysis reveals this isn't the case.

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#59

Post by e12e »

benreesman wrote: post #14

If Plucky Nonprofit was OAI-1, and Abruptly Serious AI Lab was OAI-2, And Viable Commercial Product was OAI-3, and Scary Brittle Governance With Creepy NSA Ties was OAI-4, then God Emperor of Arrakis is presumably OAI-5. I figured they’d ship GPT-5 to justify OAI-5, but I guess they’ve realized that they now answer to no one on anything in practical terms. That’s terrifying.

Nit; the God Emperor arises long after the Butlerian Jihad banned thinking machines - so it's not a great image for the rise of totalitarian artificial intelligence...

Re: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity

#60

Post by dirkc »

elAhmo wrote: post #9

> Since then, OpenAI's board has been refreshed with more tech executives, chaired by Bret Taylor, former Salesforce co-CEO who now runs his own AI startup. Any corporate changes need approval from its nine-person non-profit board. Why would the non-profit board approve a change to a for-profit company? Wouldn't this be against the nature of the non-profit entity that was founded and which they are supposed to govern…

I don't think you can vote to change a non-profit to a for-profit company. Once a non-profit, always a non-profit.

There are sort-off loopholes, like changing the name of "Open AI" to something else and selling the name along with the IP to a commercial entity - EdX did this. But it's not really a loophole, since the board would need justify the price the commercial company paid and the money from the sale is still within a non-profit and bound by it's rules.

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