Sam Altman's Firing: A Play in 5 Acts
Prepared for @hiaimediaen
The whole world is watching the events unfolding rapidly around OpenAI following the firing of Sam Altman. This is a techno-tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, which, we are confident, will soon be adapted for the screen. It's interesting to speculate which will be created faster — AGI or a new Netflix series?
• Ilya Sutskever — Chief Scientist and Board Member of OpenAI
• Greg Brockman — President of OpenAI, Chairman of the Board
• Mira Murati — CTO of OpenAI, Interim CEO
• Satya Nadella — CEO of Microsoft
• Emmet Shear — Founder of Twitch, a popular video game streaming platform, Interim CEO of OpenAI
• Adam D'Angelo — Director of Quora, Board Member of OpenAI
The setting is in the city of San Francisco.
Prologue
Sam Altman participated in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco and participated in the "AI and the Future of Art" panel.
In the evening, he received a message from Ilya Sutskever asking to talk on Friday at noon.
Mira Murati was informed that Altman would be fired the following day, and she would become the interim CEO.
Act 1. Firing
Dismissal At 12:00, Ilya Sutskever informed Sam Altman of his dismissal via a Google Meet call and said this news would soon be made public.
Brockman Demoted At 12:23, Ilya Sutskever told Greg Brockman that he had been removed from his position as Chairman of the Board but would remain with the company.
Altman's Dismissal Was Publicly Announced OpenAI published a post on its blog announcing the executive shake-up after a "deliberative review" conducted by the board of directors. The board concluded that "he [Altman] was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI."
Temporary Management
The interim head of OpenAI became 35-year-old Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who has been with the company since 2018.
Market Reaction
Shares of Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI, dropped nearly 2.5% instantly. As a result, the company's market capitalization decreased by $47 billion.
All-hands Meeting
OpenAI held an all-hands meeting on Friday afternoon, during which Sutskever defended Altman's ouster. He dismissed suggestions that pushing Altman out amounted to a "hostile takeover" and claimed it was necessary to protect OpenAI's mission of "making AI beneficial to humanity."
Microsoft Statement
Microsoft released a statement from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, stating that they remain committed to a long-term partnership with OpenAI.
Brockman Quits Brockman announced his resignation from OpenAI, citing "today's news."
Senior OpenAI Researchers Resigned Three senior OpenAI researchers resigned following Brockman, including the director of research Jakub Pachocki, and head of preparedness Aleksander Madry.
New Project
At 20:42, Greg Brockman announced a new joint project with Sam Altman.
Act 2. Rumors
"Not … in Response to Malfeasance" In an internal memo obtained by Axios sent Saturday morning, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said yesterday's announcement "took [the management team] by surprise," and that the management had had "multiple conversations with the board to try better understand the reasons and process behind their decision." Discussions were ongoing as of Saturday morning, according to the memo.
All About Microchips?
At 11:37, Bloomberg published that in the weeks leading up to his dismissal from OpenAI, Altman was raising billions of dollars in the Middle East for his new company, Tigris, which was intended to compete with Nvidia in creating of microchips.
Altman Is Planning a New Venture
According to The Information, Altman told investors he was planning to launch a new venture.
OpenAI's Funding in Jeopardy
The planned sale of OpenAI stock, valued at $86 billion, could not proceed.
Investors Pushing for Altman's Return
Investors were pressuring OpenAI's board of directors to reinstate Altman.
The Board Agreed to Reverse Course — in Principle The Verge reported that the board agreed in principle to resign and to allow Altman and Brockman to return.
Act 3. Negotiations
Possible Return of Altman and Brockman
Altman and Brockman were considering a return to OpenAI, provided that the board members who dismissed them resign.
Altman's Selfie
Sam Altman posted a photo of himself with a guest pass at OpenAI's headquarters.
Negotiations. The Beginning Microsoft, led by Satya Nadella, started negotiations with the board of directors.
Altman Out, Shear In
Altman won’t be returning as CEO, according to a report by The Information citing an internal memo sent by Sutskever. As the search for a new permanent CEO continues, OpenAI has appointed Emmett Shear, the co-founder of video streaming site Twitch, as interim CEO — replacing Murati.
Emmett Shear
"Today I got a call inviting me to consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to become the interim CEO of @OpenAI," Shear posted in X. "After consulting with my family and reflecting on it for just a few hours, I accepted."
Act 4. Transition
Altman Joined Microsoft
Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and colleagues announced their decision to join Microsoft to lead a new AI research team. Nadella welcomed other OpenAI staff members, stating they would receive the necessary resources should they also decide to join.
Market Reaction
Following the announcement of Altman's appointment, Microsoft's stock reached a new all-time high, climbing to $377.10.
Sutskever's Mea Culpa Sutskever published a post on X expressing regret over his decision to remove Altman and his commitment to do everything possible to reunite the company.
OpenAI Board Considered Merger OpenAI's board of directors approached Dario Amodei, the co-founder and CEO of rival large-language model developer Anthropic, about a potential merger of the two companies, The Information reported. The approach was part of an effort by OpenAI to persuade Amodei to replace Sam Altman as CEO — but Amodei quickly turned down the CEO offer.
Employees Threatened to Resign Nearly 500 of OpenAI's roughly 770 employees threatened to quit unless the board reinstated Altman. They signed an open letter stating, "The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company. Your conduct has made it clear that you do not have the competence to oversee OpenAI." Ilya Sutskever was among the signatories. Later, the number of signatories reached 95%. They demanded the resignation of the board of directors.
Flash Mob on X
Employees of OpenAI wrote posts stating, "OpenAI is nothing without its people," and Sam Altman reposted with a ❤️
Altman and Brockman Were Considering Return
As reported by The Verge, Altman's move to Microsoft wasn't a done deal — and both Altman and Brockman were still open to returning to OpenAI, provided that the remaining board members who had initially fired him would step aside.
Act 5. The Return
Board Tensions Boil Over
The New York Times reported that, before his dismissal, Sam Altman attempted to push out board member Helen Toner because he believed a paper she had co-authored was overly critical of OpenAI. This, among other issues, led to OpenAI's current predicament. Speaking of which, The Times indicated that negotiations to rehire Altman are ongoing — but one major sticking point remains: "guardrails" intended to improve Altman's communication with the board.
Are You Kidding?
OpenAI released a significant new ChatGPT feature alongside a joke about Sam Altman's dismissal. A voice assistant feature became available to all users for free. This function allows users to interact with ChatGPT using their voice in the mobile app and receive audio responses. The release on X was illustrated with the question: "It's been a long night for the team, and we're hungry. How many 16-inch pizzas should I order for 778 people?" This referred to the employees who opposed Altman's dismissal.
Negotiations Continued
OpenAI's board of directors was in talks with Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO, according to Bloomberg. A brief, citing sources close to the matter, reported that discussions were happening between Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, a current member of the OpenAI board, Altman, and possibly other board members as well.
D'Angelo, a school friend of Mark Zuckerberg and the first CTO of Facebook, is well-known in the tech world and recognized by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. He might be one of the main orchestrators of the entire play; his question-and-answer website Quora has lost popularity due to OpenAI's developments. Furthermore, the recent announcement of GPTs and the GPT Store at DevDay threatens to his similar project, the Poe application.
I'll Be Back Sam Altman and OpenAI have agreed on his return as CEO and an "initial" new board of directors.
Sam Altman, OpenAI Reach Agreement on Return as CEO and Initial New Board In a sudden late announcement, OpenAI revealed that it and Altman had agreed in principle for him to return as the company's CEO. In addition to Altman's return, its new initial board will include former Salesforce chief executive Bret Taylor, former US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo.
The curtain falls. The script for the first season is complete. Ready to shoot.
To be continued...
Prepared for @hiaimediaen