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

OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

businessinsider.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 264 posts

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#91

Post by gkoberger »

kvee wrote: post #88
gkoberger wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can fairly ascribe a lot of negative attributes to Sam, but an unnatural thirst for money isn't it. Nothing about anything he does makes me think he's motivated by increasing his personal net worth.

He has said in podcasts he is motivated not by the money but by the power he has at OpenAI

Do you have an actual quote? I've listened to him talk a lot, and this feels like a misquote or misinterpretation. (I'm not saying it's not true; I just don't see Sam saying he personally likes power)

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#92

Post by alecst »

pixelmonkey wrote: post #79
reso wrote: post #53

I am still so confused by this whole saga. No one has explained how or why the entire board decided to do a coup, and then simply changed their minds a few days later. I have to assume that the individuals involved are under a mix of social and legal pressure to not talk about the circumstances.

This recent TIME article lays out the saga pretty straightforwardly and makes it a bit less confusing. https://time.com/6342827/ceo-of-the-year-2023-sam-altman/ At least, that was how I felt after reading it. Basically, within the span of a year, OpenAI transformed from a research lab inside a non-profit that was pursuing a seemingly-Quixiotic dream of artificial general intelligence (AGI)... into one of the fastest-…

That's a great summary, and I feel less confused after having read it. Thanks.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#93

Post by [deleted] »

shwaj wrote: post #76
replwoacause wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the offer from MSFT, albeit unofficial, was that anyone who made the switch kept their current salary.

A big part of the comp is in equity, and since OpenAI has an uncommon equity structure it is unclear how that would translate to Microsoft stock.

[deleted]

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#94

Post by zlg_codes »

wintogreen74 wrote: post #57
kvee wrote: post #10

pg talks about how Sam Altman is the most powered person he's ever met. Seems we have a super powerful psychopath running perhaps the most important company in human history. I do think he legitimately believes he's doing the right thing though all throughout, which maybe makes it more scary. Sorta like how Mark Zuckerberg seemed to truly believe in Facebook's mission and wound up having all sorts of negative externa…

One old guy in a bubble thinks says another young guy in same bubble (who he just happened to mentor) is "the most powered person he's ever met."

That whole first part disgusted me. "most powered person he's met"? Good lord does that come off as tone deaf, almost groveling.

And the most important company in human history? The hell is that guy smoking, because I've got good shit and that's some serious hyperbole.

Is the hype machine in the room with us right now?

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#96

Post by djur »

zlg_codes wrote: post #90
Laaas wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't miss the cloud revolution, and certainly not the AI revolution either. Microsoft is doing absolutely great under Satya Nadella.

Weird, Microsoft's been invisible to me since the early 2000s. I don't think they could sell me anything. Their whole corporate image is just slimy. Like that one friend that wants you to set up an account on something he's got going, or wants you to join him on an investment. You can totally trust him. You'll have a site, some cloud storage, office software, the works. And the investment? Yeah dude it'll rocket any…

> What can Microsoft do for a programmer who self-hosts and doesn't trust proprietary software?

Ignore them and market themselves to the remaining 99% of programmers.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#97

Post by vthallam »

xazzy wrote: post #40

Am an employee, signed the letter. I can't read the article so maybe the content is more nuanced, but the framing irks me. This all happened really fast and the offer was informal. I can only speak for myself but I do have a lot of respect for modern MS, and would have seriously considered the move if that's what kept the team together and comp was reasonable. I would be surprised if most people felt differently.

> >> and comp was reasonable

there's no way you guys would get the same comp though? like not even close. MSFT irrespective of how much it wants you is not going to honor the 10X increase in valuation from the upcoming $90 billion valuation.

Even if they do, you will miss on the upside. MSFT stock is not going to 10X but OpenAI's might.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#98

Post by catchnear4321 »

replwoacause wrote: post #81
miraculixx wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple more likely. Or some other co we don't know about yet. OpenAI is going to crumble. Microsoft will be challenged for trust. We'll see what happens.

Apple? They seem to be asleep at the wheel as far as AI goes. I thought their focus was hardware. Siri is a piece of junk.

apple only has one focus. ecosystem. that is the reason for the slow movements and the appearance of sleep. different scale. different game.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#100

Post by constantly »

djur wrote: post #96
zlg_codes wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird, Microsoft's been invisible to me since the early 2000s. I don't think they could sell me anything. Their whole corporate image is just slimy. Like that one friend that wants you to set up an account on something he's got going, or wants you to join him on an investment. You can totally trust him. You'll have a site, some cloud storage, office software, the works. And the investment? Yeah dude it'll rocket any…

> What can Microsoft do for a programmer who self-hosts and doesn't trust proprietary software? Ignore them and market themselves to the remaining 99% of programmers.

*99.95% of programmers
Post reply on HN