Hindsight bias is strong with this one.
OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
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Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#592I'd bet money Satya was a driver of this reversal. I genuinely can't believe the board didn't see this coming. I think they could have won in the court of public opinion if their press release said they loved Sam but felt like his skills and ambitions diverged from their mission. But instead, they tried to skewer him, and it backfired completely. I hope Sam comes back. He'll make a lot more money if he doesn't, but I…
Agreed. Somewhere in Seattle, Satya said "Now Witness the Firepower of this fully Armed and Operational Army of Lawyers." If there ever was a time for Microsoft to leverage LCA, it is now. There's far too much on the line for them to lose the goose that has laid the golden egg.
lol yeah come between Microsoft, their money, and an opportunity to knee cap google. What could go wrong?
Maybe the board is too young to realize who they sold their souls to. Heh I think they’re quickly finding out.
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#593Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not for the better why? Obviously Sam wasn’t the best fit for OpenAI and investors aren’t even saying what the problem is. Clearly the board feels he was the wrong person for the job. I think it’s ridiculous that everything thinks that Sam being outed means OpenAI is in trouble. Let this play out and see how it evolves
24 hours ago OpenAI fired their CEO in the most childish possible way. Now they are trying to get him back. This is embarassing for OpenAI no matter how you slice it.
> Now they are trying to get him back.
OpenAI has never claimed they want Sam back. The article claims OpenAI's investors want him back.
I will agree that OpenAI could have done a better job of letting him go if there truly were irreconcilable differences.
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#594My first thoughts yesterday were: Some really bad scandal happened at OpenAI (massive data leak, massive fraud, or huge embezzlement), or the board is really incompetent and doesn't know what they're doing. But an organization as big as OpenAI, with the backing of Microsoft and other big players would never make such a big decision without a really good reason.
Seems like Hanlon's razor won once again.
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#595I 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…
Maybe. Or maybe they can profit differently going forward. Sam is not the reason OpenAI is gangbusters, its tech is. What I’m not hearing in any of this reporting is how Sam Altman is somehow the secret sauce. And it’s because he isn’t. This is “rules for thee but not for me”. He as a bad fit, 2/3 the board outed him, and investors are mad because they didn’t feel included. You know, like how they include employees i…
He's extraordinarily talented by all accounts, especially at fundraising. But his Apple was Loopt. He's not the secret sauce but a facilitator - more Tim than Steve. Perhaps like Steve was to Pixar.
"The start-up company must either cross or die, but what value is life if to gain it one has to go against one’s best self?" - Moore, Crossing the Chasm, p. 75
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#596Update on the OpenAI drama: Altman and the board had till 5pm to reach a truce where the board would resign and he and Brockman would return. The deadline has passed and mass resignations expected if a deal isn’t reached ASAP https://twitter.com/alexeheath/status/1726055095341875545
"Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, must be sacked."
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#597Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any talented engineer or scientist who actually wants to ship product AND make money would head over to Sam’s startup. Any investor who cares about making money would fund Sam’s startup as well. The way the board pulled this off really gave them no good outcome. They stand to lose talent AND investors AND customers. Half the people I know who use GPT in their work are wondering if it will be even worth paying for if…
And any talented engineer or scientist who actually wants to build safe AGI in an organization that isn't obsessed with boring B2B SaaS would align with Ilya. See, there are two sides to this? Sam isn't a god, despite what the media makes him out to be; none of them are.
Would those talented engineers or scientists be content with significantly lower compensation and generally significantly less resources to work with. However good their intentions might this probably won't make them too attractive to future investors and antagonizing MS doesen't seem like a great idea.
OpenAI is far from being self-sustainable and without significant external investment they'll just probably be soon overtaken by someone else.
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#598This makes no sense. People are calling what the board did a coup, but Altman is trying (failing?) to stage a coup.
The board was Altmans boss - this is pretty much their only job. Altman knew this and most likely ignored any questions or concerns of theirs thinking he is the unfireable superstar
Imagine if your boss fired you - and your response was - I’ll come back if you quit! Yeah, no. People might confuse status with those of actual ceo shareholders like zuck, bezos, or musk. But Altman is just another employee
The shareholders can fire the board, but that’s not what he’s asking for. And so far we haven’t heard anything about them getting fired. So mostly this just seems like an egomaniac employee who thinks he is the company (while appropriating the work of some really really smart data scientists)
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#599Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any talented engineer or scientist who actually wants to ship product AND make money would head over to Sam’s startup. Any investor who cares about making money would fund Sam’s startup as well. The way the board pulled this off really gave them no good outcome. They stand to lose talent AND investors AND customers. Half the people I know who use GPT in their work are wondering if it will be even worth paying for if…
>would head over to Sam’s startup Why? I see a lot of hero-worship for Sam, but very little concrete facts about what he's done to make this a success. And given his history, I'm inclined to believe he just got lucky.
He presumably can attract investors?
Re: OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
#600Update on the OpenAI drama: Altman and the board had till 5pm to reach a truce where the board would resign and he and Brockman would return. The deadline has passed and mass resignations expected if a deal isn’t reached ASAP https://twitter.com/alexeheath/status/1726055095341875545
"Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, must be sacked."
Who sacks the person who sacks?