The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis IT'S OVER! Sam Altman BACK as CEO of OpenAI
Nov 22, 2023
Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI after a turbulent five-day standoff marked by boardroom drama and conflicts over a controversial research paper. The podcast dives into the fallout from his ousting and what that means for the company's governance moving forward. Discussions highlight the importance of diverse opinions within the board and the ongoing challenges in navigating trust and safety in AI development. Insights on how these events will shape OpenAI's future are also explored.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Shifting Narratives
- Initially, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist, was seen as the driver of Altman's ouster.
- Later, reports suggested Adam D'Angelo, CEO of Quora, played a key role due to perceived conflicts of interest.
Internal Conflict
- Sam Altman criticized board member Helen Toner for co-authoring a research paper seemingly critical of OpenAI.
- Altman felt the paper, which praised competitor Anthropic, was damaging, especially amidst a FTC investigation.
The Anthropic Paper
- A research paper praised Anthropic's cautious approach to AI safety, contrasting it with OpenAI's perceived acceleration of an AI arms race.
- This paper became a point of contention within OpenAI, highlighting differing views on safety and competition.