OpenAI Navigates Period Of Chaos As Sam Altman And Greg Brockman Leave

In response to OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman’s shocking ouster on Friday, Greg Brockman, the Co-founder And President, abruptly quit just hours later. Altman was fired by the company he helped make a leading force in the AI industry.

Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, Brockman wrote: “We’ve been through tough and great times together, accomplishing so much despite all the reasons it should have been impossible … I continue to believe in the mission of creating safe AGI that benefits all of humanity.”

Sam Altman’s Alleged Lack Of Frankness

In a blog post, the company noted: “The board no longer has confidence in [Altman’s] ability to continue leading OpenAI.” The board did not elaborate on Altman’s alleged lack of frankness and declined to answer follow-up questions about the shocking transition.

“Mr Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” the company added.

Microsoft CEO Seeks To Downplay The Situation

As part of the transition, Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed interim CEO of OpenAI. Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role as president of the company, the statement further highlighted.

Satya Nadella, the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft – a major investor in OpenAI, sought to downplay the situation. Taking to X, he tweeted: “We have a long-term agreement with OpenAI with full access to everything we need to deliver on our innovation agenda.”

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Altman, A Public Face For The AI Industry

In addition to his role as CEO, Sam Altman, 38, also served as a sort of public face for the AI industry. In his “world tour” this spring, he met with the heads of state of several countries, while also testifying before the US Congress on the potential benefits and risks of AI technology.

Just a day before his abrupt ouster, Altman appeared at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit. In a tweet, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called him a “hero”, noting: “He built a company from nothing to $90 billion in value, and changed our collective world forever.”