Altman was suddenly terminated on Friday, plunging the leading technology business into a state of ongoing turmoil.
Reports suggest that the OpenAI board is currently engaged in negotiations with Sam Altman regarding his potential reinstatement as CEO. Sources familiar with the situation mentioned that Altman, who was unceremoniously ousted by the board without prior warning, appears hesitant about returning and is advocating for significant management reforms.
Altman’s swift reengagement with the company mere days after his dismissal hints at OpenAI’s precarious state in his absence. Following his departure, Greg Brockman, the former board chairman and leader of OpenAI, resigned, sparking discussions among them about launching a new venture. The recent wave of resignations by key researchers and insiders hint at further organizational shake-ups on the horizon.
Despite Microsoft, OpenAI’s primary investor, affirming its continued support post Altman’s removal, stakeholders were left uninformed and excluded from the decision-making process. Altman, as the prominent figurehead of the company and a pivotal figure in the field of AI, leaving abruptly has cast a shadow of uncertainty over OpenAI’s future, especially amidst intensifying competition in the wake of ChatGPT’s remarkable success.
The current board of OpenAI comprises OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo, CEO of Quora, former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner, the strategy director at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Unlike conventional corporations, the board’s primary objective is not profit maximization but rather to foster the advancement of “broadly beneficial” artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Sources indicate that Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI and head of its research division, played a pivotal role in Altman’s recent ousting.
