Chaos at OpenAI
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This week we’re concentrating on the chaos at OpenAI . Our senior writer Paresh Dave explains how an unusual corporate structure – designed to protect humanity against rogue AI – had worried some investors that it could weaken the company.
How OpenAI’s Bizarre Structure Gave 4 People the Power to Fire Sam Altman
When Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and other investors formed the startup behind ChatGPT as a US not-for-profit organization in 2015, Altman told Vanity Fair he had very little experience with nonprofits. “So I’m just not sure how it’s going to go,” he said.
“A handful of people with no financial stake in the company had the power to upend the project on a whim”
He couldn’t have imagined the drama of this week, with four directors on OpenAI’s nonprofit board unexpectedly firing him as CEO and removing the company’s president as chairman of the board. But the bylaws Altman and his cofounders initially established and a restructuring in 2019 that opened the door to billions of dollars in investment from Microsoft gave a handful of people with no financial stake in the company the power to upend the project on a whim.
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Until next time
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Co-Founder and Startup Builder @ D·nvented Labs Startup Studio. Using AI to build Products that protect Humans from AI.
1yI held off until now to opine. What I will say is that if you have never been in the middle of a board trying to get rid of a CEO, it is next to impossible to have an opinion. Especially if you didn't go through that kind of drama as part of an executive board or leadership team. It's brutal and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Everyone thinks they could be the quarterback until they get crushed by a 250-pound linebacker.
Last-Mile Logistics Operations || Personal Branding | Product Management
1yLet's wait and see how the drama unfolds