The Return of OpenAI’s Sam Altman – “Money Always Wins”

Sam Altman’s return to OpenAI arose just as abruptly as his initial forced exit, with new plot twists in the saga unfolding within a matter of days. There is much speculation surrounding reasons behind the conflict between Altman and the OpenAI board and therefore for his subsequent ousting. It was initially highlighted that OpenAI’s board turned against Altman for reasons based on his fast-paced move towards Artificial General Intelligence, where it appeared that the firing came as a result of AI danger concerns and Altman’s holding back of important information regarding AI.[1] Since then, it has been reported that Altman’s firing came as a result of his attempt to push out board member Helen Toner, which ultimately rebounded back onto him.[2] Although, it goes much deeper than this, with some accounts of Altman trying to specifically play board members against each other in an attempt to dispose of Toner.

Despite OpenAI’s board believing that Microsoft would be supportive of the decision, this was not the reality of the reaction for reasons that are predictable. Microsoft specifically has formed a responsible AI division and are particularly concerned with the dangers of AI. This is coupled with the company’s quick integration of GPT into its products and want of increasing society’s use of AI in day-to-day living. Bearing these considerations in mind, it is no surprise that many Microsoft employees have regarded the decision of OpenAI’s board to fire Altman as “mind-boggingly stupid”,[3] with concerns that this decision would destroy the ChatGPT developer. This led to Microsoft executives forming plans. (1) They aimed to back OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and get leadership to take back its decision. (2) As the largest investor in OpenAI, Microsoft planned to leverage this position and influence to achieve the reinstatement of Altman. (3) It aimed to hire Altman and a string of his employees back from OpenAI in order to rebuild inside the shelter of Microsoft. It even announced that Altman was to lead the organisation’s new in-house Artificial Intelligence (AI) team, alongside Greg Brockman – the co-founder of OpenAI. Despite this journey, it has resulted in Altman ultimately regaining his place at OpenAI, with the addition of Microsoft on the board as an observer. Much of the story surrounding Altman is still in the dark. Nonetheless, each day the public is receiving more leaks that are illuminating the circumstances that have led to these events. Despite the details surrounding this ousting unravelling slowly, it has still left the majority with questions.

The results of this drama have important subsequent effects, with conclusions now being reached that “AI Belongs to the Capitalists Now”[4] and “The Money Always Wins”.[5] With a non-profit board being in charge of a for-profit company, it is ultimately money (Altman) that has won. The large emphasis on OpenAI competing in the AI space against the most powerful companies globally places a significance on Altman as a key individual to watch for in the AI development war.

In sum, the ousting and return of Sam Altman at OpenAI has left a tail of questions and speculations regarding the circumstances that have surrounded this. I expect that ChatGPT will likely continue its innovations until it has introduced AI technologies that we are yet to experience. Conversely, the now-former members of the board responsible for his ousting may witness their concerns coming to light with the rapid development of general artificial intelligence and the potential disastrous effects that may arise from this. Altman’s credibility within the AI industry coupled with his public image allows for public trust in him amongst this cutthroat war to gain an advantage in the business of AI. However, only time will tell whether the former board members were justified in their reasonings for ousting Altman.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/1/23984818/openai-microsoft-altman-nadella-firing-newyorker

[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-firing-what-happened-with-helen-toner-2023-12?r=US&IR=T

[3] https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/1/23984818/openai-microsoft-altman-nadella-firing-newyorker

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/technology/openai-board-capitalists.html

[5] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/sam-altman-open-ai-microsoft-investment-profit/676077/