SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft, in a surprise turn of events that clouded the future of the startup at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom.
The appointments, settled late on Sunday, followed Altman's abrupt ousting just days earlier as CEO of the ChatGPT maker and ended speculation that he could return.
By Monday, close to all of OpenAI's more than 700 employees threatened to quit in a letter demanding the resignation of the board and reinstatement of Altman and former President Greg Brockman, according to a copy viewed by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter. The document was signed by employees including OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, the board member who fired Altman.
"I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company," Sutskever said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.
Hours later, Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sought to quell fears of a collapse at OpenAI. Altman wrote on X that his top priority "remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive" and said he was "committed to fully providing continuity of operations.
Nadella, during a CNBC interview, said he was open to staff staying at OpenAI or coming to Microsoft. He said governance at the ChatGPT maker needed to change no matter where Altman ended up.
Microsoft has rushed in to attract some of the biggest names that left OpenAI, including co-founder Brockman, to keep key talent out of the hands of rivals including Alphabet's Google and Amazon.com while seeking to stabilize the startup in which it invested billions of dollars.
OpenAI's newly appointed interim head moved quickly to dismiss speculation that its board ousted Altman due to a dispute over the safety of powerful AI models. Shear vowed to open an investigation into the firing, consider new governance for OpenAI and continue its path of making available technology like its viral chatbot.
"I'm not crazy enough to take this job without board support for commercializing our awesome models," Shear said.
The startup dismissed Altman on Friday after a "breakdown of communications," according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Among various reported calls to find a successor, OpenAI's board of directors approached rival Anthropic's CEO about replacing Altman and potentially merging the two AI startups, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei declined.
The organization that governs OpenAI is a nonprofit. Its four-person board as of Friday consisted of three independent directors holding no equity in OpenAI, as well as chief scientist Sutskever.
In the letter calling for the board's resignation, employees also demanded the appointment of two new independent directors, such as former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, a former United States representative.
"Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI," the employees said in the letter.
"Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join," they added.
An OpenAI spokesperson referred Reuters to Altman's comment on the goal to make the startup thrive.
DIFFERENT IDEALS
For years, OpenAI employees have been split between different ideals, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Some - including many who joined before 2022 - are focused on building artificial general intelligence (AGI) safely with sufficient guard rails, while others recruited after the success of ChatGPT are more keen on quickly building and launching products in the tradition of Silicon Valley startups, one of the people said.
Shear said prior to his appointment as interim CEO that he was "in favor of slowing down" AI's rapid development.
Analyst Richard Windsor, of Radio Free Mobile, said in a note: "This weekend was simply the detonation of a bomb that has been waiting to go off."
Altman is becoming CEO of a new research group inside Microsoft and will be joined by other departing OpenAI colleagues who quit following his ouster, Nadella said in posts on X.
Those joining Altman at Microsoft include senior researchers Szymon Sidor and Jakub Pachocki, according to Brockman.
Microsoft has bet heavily on the startup, releasing what it called AI copilots to business customers based on OpenAI's technology. OpenAI researchers have viewed Microsoft's vast reserves of computing power as essential to the development of superintelligent machines.
SemiAnalysis, a research and consulting firm, said in a note on Monday that any attempt by OpenAI's nonprofit board to slow down AI's development out of safety concerns had backfired.
"Now the world’s largest corporations without clear oversight/commitment to safe and responsible AGI is in the drivers seat," the note said.
Microsoft had supported a return by Altman to OpenAI, according to sources, a move that seemed likely only hours prior to Monday's announcements.
Reuters
Tue Nov 21 2023
OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft. - REUTERS/Filepic
Selepas Sarawak, Pulau Pinang minat anjur bersama Sukan SEA 2027 - Hannah
Pulau Pinang menjadi negeri terbaharu selepas Sarawak untuk menjadi hos bersama penganjuran temasya Sukan SEA 2027, menurut Menteri Belia dan Sukan Hannah Yeoh.
'Unifikan' platform perniagaan anda dengan Unifi Business
Unifi Business selaku rakan digital pilihan lebih 400,000 perusahaan mikro, kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) berhasrat membantu mentransformasikan perniagaan melalui penyelesaian digital komprehensif.
Darurat diisytihar di Voronezh, Rusia selepas serangan dron Ukraine
Keadaan darurat diisytiharkan di daerah Podgorensky wilayah Voronezh, Rusia selepas kebakaran tercetus akibat serangan dron Ukraine, kata gabenor wilayah, Alexander Gusev pada Ahad.
Polis serbu 10 premis urut tawar khidmat seks, tahan 39 wanita warga asing
Polis menahan 39 wanita warga asing yang disyaki bekerja sebagai pekerja seks dan tukang urut dalam serbuan di 10 premis urut sekitar Lembah Klang, Jumaat lepas.
PDRM kutip lebih RM1 juta diskaun saman
Ketua Jabatan Siasatan dan Penguatkuasaan Trafik Kontinjen Pahang Deputi superintanden Ahmad Ridha Hariri berkata jumlah itu ialah hasil bayaran yang diterima daripada 2,000 pengunjung yang mendapatkan tawaran diskaun 50 peratus daripada PDRM.
AWANI Ringkas: Tuntutan RM100 juta tidak berasas
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Borneo [07/07/2024] - Tiada kemalangan jiwa | PRN Sabah | Maal Hijrah 2024
Awani Borneo 7 Julai 2024 bersama Jasmine Abu Bakar;
1. Dua rumah musnah dalam kebakaran di Kundasang
2. Sabah tidak perlu parti luar, perkukuh blok Borneo - Shadie Apdal
3. Yang di-Pertuan Agong gesa kerajaan tingkat kuatkuasa kandungan ajaran sesat
1. Dua rumah musnah dalam kebakaran di Kundasang
2. Sabah tidak perlu parti luar, perkukuh blok Borneo - Shadie Apdal
3. Yang di-Pertuan Agong gesa kerajaan tingkat kuatkuasa kandungan ajaran sesat
Exists, Ungu ‘berentap’ di pentas konsert pada 14 Julai ini
Bakal berlangsung selama 3 jam setengah ini, konsert ini akan dipenuhi dengan lagu-lagu hit daripada dua buah kumpulan ini.
Urus tadbir perlu bersifat telus, ambil kira cabaran rakyat
Premier Sarawak, Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg mahu urus tadbir wilayah itu sentiasa mengambil kira cabaran yang dihadapi oleh manusia sejagat.
Pendekatan agresif noktahkan miskin tegar di Sabah
Kerajaan Negeri Sabah terus mengambil pendekatan bersifat agresif bagi menoktahkan isu miskin tegar di Sabah.
Aplikasi ChatGPT untuk MacOS simpan perbualan tanpa sebarang penyulitan
Mengikut semakan pembangun, OpenAI didapati menyimpan pelbagai data perbualan dan pertanyaan dalam teks biasa, tanpa sebarang penyulitan.
OpenAI bakal tinggalkan China, syarikat AI lain mungkin menyusul
OpenAI mengeluarkan kenyataan mengatakan bahawa mereka akan meninggalkan pasaran China pada 9 Julai ini.
Aplikasi ChatGPT ditawarkan untuk semua pengguna macOS
Dengan memasang aplikasi ChatGPT pada Mac, pengguna boleh lakukan akses pantas kepada ChatGPT dengan hanya tekan kekunci Option-Space.
OpenAI tidak dibayar Apple sebaliknya akan lakukan perkongsian pendapatan
Ramai yang tertanya-tanya apakah bayaran yang diterima oleh
Apple Intelligence guna dua model AI yang dibangunkan sendiri
Model-model ini dibangunkan sendiri dan bukan OpenAI seperti yang dibimbangi Elon Musk.
Elon Musk tarik tuntutan saman ke atas OpenAI, Sam Altman
Tiada sebab diberikan mengapa saman ditarik dan pihak Elon Musk belum mengemukakan sebarang kenyataan rasmi mengenainya.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
ANTARA pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Rabu, 5 Jun 2024.
Bekas kakitangan Google, OpenAI ingin perlindungan jika beri amaran bahaya AI
Antara taktik yang digunakan bekas majikan ialah meminta mereka menandatangani dokumen tidak mendedahkan maklumat (NDA).
Pengguna percuma ChatGPT kini boleh akses GPT, muat naik fail
Walau bagaimanapun, buat masa ini, pengguna versi percuma tidak boleh menghasilkan GPT mereka tersendiri.
ChatGPT Edu diumum untuk kegunaan di universiti
Pengguna ChatGPT Edu diberikan akses kepada model GPT-4o yang boleh mengenal pasti teks, melakukan pengaturcaraan dan perkiraan matematik.