Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

781–790 of 1001 posts

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#781

Post by gardenhedge »

silenced_trope wrote: post #194
shubhamjain wrote: post #162

At the end of the day, we still don't know what exactly happened and probably, never will. However, it seems clear there was a rift between Rapid Commercialization (Team Sam) and Upholding the Original Principles (Team Helen/Ilya). I think the tensions were brewing for quite a while, as it's evident from an article written even before GPT-3 [1]. > Over time, it has allowed a fierce competitiveness and mounting pressu…

Honestly "Safety" is the word in the AI talk that nobody can quantify or qualify in any way when it comes to these conversations. I've stopped caring about anyone who uses the word "safety". It's vague and a hand-waive-y way to paint your opponents as dangerous without any sort of proof or agreed upon standard for who/what/why makes something "safety".

I broadly agree but there needs to be some regulation in place. Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_convergence#Paper...

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#782

Post by Cacti »

flylib wrote: post #111

"A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations says that the sole job of this initial board is to vet and appoint a new formal board of up to 9 people that will reset the governance of OpenAl. Microsoft will likely have a seat on that expanded board, as will Altman himself." https://twitter.com/teddyschleifer/status/172721237871736880...

Ilya thought he was saving the world (lol), but really he was just working at Microsoft.

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#783

Post by scarface_74 »

Satam wrote: post #215

Disappointing outcome. The process has conclusively confirmed that OpenAI is in fact not open and that it is effectively controlled by Microsoft. Furthermore, the overwhelming groupthink shows there's clearly little critical thinking amongst OpenAI's employees either. It might not seem like the case right now, but I think the real disruption is just about to begin. OpenAI does not have in its DNA to win, they're too…

So you didn’t realize that when Microsoft both gained a 49% interest and was subsidizing compute?

Unless they had something in their “DNA” that allowed them to build enough compute and pay their employees, they were never going to “win” without a mass infusion of cash and only three companies had enough compute and revenue to throw at them and only two companies had relationships with big enterprise and compute - Amazon and Microsoft.

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#784

Post by qwery »

baking wrote: post #761
garrison wrote: post #637

If OpenAI remains a 501(c)(3) charity, then any employee of Microsoft on the board will have a fiduciary duty to advance the mission of the charity, rather than the business needs of Microsoft. There are obvious conflicts of interest here. I don't expect the IRS to be a fan of this arrangement.

My guess is that the non-profit has never gotten this kind of scrutiny now and the new directors are going to want to get lawyers involved to cover their asses. Just imagine their positions when Sam Altman really does something worth firing. I think it was a real mistake to create OpenAI as a public charity and I would be hesitant to step into that mess. Imagine the fun when it tips into a private foundation status.

> I think it was a real mistake to create OpenAI as a public charity

Sure, with hindsight. But it didn't require much in the way of foresight to predict that some sort of problem would arise from the not-for-profit operating a hot startup that is by definition poorly aligned with the stated goals of the parent company. The writing was on the wall.

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#786

Post by seydor »

jafitc wrote: post #760

OpenAI's Future and Viability - OpenAI has damaged their brand and lost trust, but may still become a hugely successful company if they build great products - OpenAI looks stronger now with a more professional board, but has fundamentally transformed into a for-profit focused on commercializing LLMs - OpenAI still retains impressive talent and technology assets and could pivot into a leading AI provider if managed we…

who would want to work for an irreplaceable CEO long term

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#787

Post by gardenhedge »

huytersd wrote: post #240
intended wrote: post #203

From a business sense, Satya was excellent. He made the right calls, fast, with limited information. Things further shifted from plan a to b to… whatever this is. Despite that, MSFT still came out on top. Consider if Satya didn’t say anything. Suppose MSFT stood back and let things play out. That’s a gap for google or some competitor to make a move. To showcase their stability and long term business friendly vision.…

Satya may honestly be the CEO of the decade for what he has done with Microsoft and now this.

Satya invested 10b into a company with terrible, incompetent governance and not getting his company any seat of influence on the board. That doesn't seem great.

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#788

Post by brookst »

garrison wrote: post #637

If OpenAI remains a 501(c)(3) charity, then any employee of Microsoft on the board will have a fiduciary duty to advance the mission of the charity, rather than the business needs of Microsoft. There are obvious conflicts of interest here. I don't expect the IRS to be a fan of this arrangement.

There’s no indication a Microsoft appointed board member would be a Microsoft employee (though the they could be of course), and large nonprofits often have board members that come from for-profit companies.

I don’t think the IRS cares much about this kind of thing. What would be the claim? They OpenAI is pushing benefits to Microsoft, a for-profit entity that pays taxes? Even if you assume the absolute worst, most nefarious meddling, it seems like an issue for SEC more than IRS.

Re: We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO

#789

Post by TigeriusKirk »

garrison wrote: post #637

If OpenAI remains a 501(c)(3) charity, then any employee of Microsoft on the board will have a fiduciary duty to advance the mission of the charity, rather than the business needs of Microsoft. There are obvious conflicts of interest here. I don't expect the IRS to be a fan of this arrangement.

Larry Summers is in place to effectively give the govt seal of approval on the new board, for better and worse.
Post reply on HN