Earlier quoted context omitted.
How has AI benefit or species so far?
How has the Internet? How has automobiles? Feels like a rather aimless question.
Sounds like an empty dodge.
OpenAI to become for-profit company
691–700 of 809 posts
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#692Earlier quoted context omitted.
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To be fair both of them probably didn't imagine Stripe would be the one today. You can apply the same logic for any successful companies, like the guy who gave up 10% of Apple for some changes.
> probably didn't imagine Stripe would be the one today
I guess being michael jordan of listening does't help with imagination
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#693I’m confused by this news story and the response here. No one seems to understand OpenAI’s corporate structure or non profits at all. My understanding: OpenAI follows the same model Mozilla does. The nonprofit has owned a for-profit corporation called OpenAI Global, LLC that pays taxes on any revenue that isn’t directly in service of their mission (in a very narrow sense based on judicial precedent) since 2019 [1]. I…
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Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#694Given what Sam has done by clearing out every single person who went against him in the initial coup and completely gutting every safety related team the entire world should be on notice. If you believe what Sam Altman himself and many other researchers are saying, that AGI and ASI may well be within reach inside this decade, then every possible alarm bell should be blaring. Sam cannot be allowed to be in control of…
I don't know why anyone would believe anything this guy is saying, though, especially now that we know he's going to receive a 7% stake in the now-for-profit company. There are two main interpretations of what he's saying: 1) He sincerely believes that AGI is around the corner. 2) He sees that his research team is hitting a plateau of what is possible and is prepping for a very successful exit before the rest of the…
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Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#695I remember a time when promises meant something. Lots of epics in human time (Greek, Hindu), people would stick to their word and commitment was respected. Written word was much more powerful than spoken. People appreciated depth. Wish we could teach and learn from those times.
Proto-Indo-European culture seems to have placed a great deal of importance on the sanctity of contracts and the notion of reciprocal hospitality, reflected in many descendant myths and etymologies surviving from Ireland through India. If the Indo-Europeans did indeed come from the Ukrainian steppes, as seems likely, this may be a reflection of their high mobility (on horseback) causing lots of contact with potential…
With no centralised justice system people had to rely on people keeping their word. If people had lied and cheated all the time their society would have collapsed.
An oath breaker didn’t just harm an individual, they did harm to the whole community, and the whole community viewed them negatively.
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#696Earlier quoted context omitted.
Occam's razor: I think Sam's personal narrative is the correct one. He built a non-profit that took off in a way that he didn't expect it and now a for-profit is the best way to run the lightning they've caught. In terms of profit, AFAICT, Sam doesn't have designs on building extra large yachts and his own space agency but what he wants is to be the one at the stead of building what he considers is world-changing tec…
Sam: "I'm not in it for the money. I have principles." World: "But what if it was like, a lot of money?" Sam: "Oh alright you convinced me. Fuck my principles."
Sam: That was child's play for me
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#697Earlier quoted context omitted.
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Weridly this is the second time this has been repeated in this thread, but Sam wasn't even a teenager anymore when he met PG the first time (but would have just turned 20), and was 25 when Stripe was founded, so your story is obviously wrong.
Right and what's this business about "gave him a 4% stake in stripe"? PG didn't own Stripe.
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#698Earlier quoted context omitted.
Proto-Indo-European culture seems to have placed a great deal of importance on the sanctity of contracts and the notion of reciprocal hospitality, reflected in many descendant myths and etymologies surviving from Ireland through India. If the Indo-Europeans did indeed come from the Ukrainian steppes, as seems likely, this may be a reflection of their high mobility (on horseback) causing lots of contact with potential…
With no centralised justice system people had to rely on people keeping their word. If people had lied and cheated all the time their society would have collapsed. An oath breaker didn’t just harm an individual, they did harm to the whole community, and the whole community viewed them negatively.
Yes, though that could apply to any pre-modern society, whereas the Indo-Europeans were especially caught up on contracts and hospitality, even compared to similar societies. It's all quite fascinating, and in the context of them going on take over a vast swathe of Eurasia, one wonders whether this kind of ritualised deal-making was a significant competitive advantage that their neighbours lacked at the time.
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#699Earlier quoted context omitted.
Normally shareholders aren’t ok with that.
I was under the impression that in UK law at least, (and obviously not in this case) the trustees of a non-profit would be bound to work in the best interests of that non-profit. And so allowing an asset like this to somehow slip out of their control would be the sort of negligence that would land you in very hot water. I'd be interested to know how this isn't the case here.
> somehow slip out of their control would be the sort of negligence that would land you in very hot water.
> how this isn't the case here.
Its not the case because they are doing the opposite of what you are suggesting. They are increasing the value of the asset that they own.
Sure, the asset itself is being diluted, but the individual parts that it owns are more valuable.
It is perfectly reasonable for a non profit to prefer to own 30% of a 100 billion dollar asset, lets say, compared to 100% of a 10 billion dollar asset.
Re: OpenAI to become for-profit company
#700We are booing Altman because his bait and switch feels unethical, but many of us saw it coming from a mile away, how does he make this transition to take advantage of the financial system so smoothly? Is there no legal guard for such maneuver, or is he just an insanely good player to circumvent all of them in plain view?