After a tumultuous series of events in November 2023, Sam Altman has rejoined the board of OpenAI, the non-profit research company focused on artificial intelligence (AI). This follows his initial dismissal and subsequent reinstatement within days.
An official statement released on March 8th confirmed Altman’s return alongside three new board members. These new additions include Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, the former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nicole Seligman, previously the EVP and General Counsel at Sony Corporation, and Fidji Simo, the current chair of Instacart.
Just four months prior, Altman’s position at OpenAI appeared precarious. He was removed from the board and briefly let go as CEO. News outlets like Cointelegraph reported that the board cited his lack of “consistent candor” in communication as the reason behind his dismissal.
OpenAI employees, however, disagreed with the board’s decision. A significant portion, over 70% of the workforce, signed a letter demanding the board’s resignation. This internal pressure, coupled with an independent investigation by the law firm WilmerHale, led to a swift reversal.
The WilmerHale investigation, which reviewed over 30,000 documents and interviewed board members, concluded that the board hadn’t fully anticipated the destabilizing effect of Altman’s dismissal.
Following the investigation, the newly formed board reaffirmed its confidence in Altman and Greg Brockman’s leadership. Bret Taylor, the current board chair, publicly stated, “We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI.”
Adding another layer of complexity, OpenAI released a series of emails on March 6th between board members and Elon Musk. These emails centered on Musk’s desire to transform OpenAI into a for-profit entity.
This revelation aligns with Musk’s legal action against OpenAI, filed on February 29th. The lawsuit alleges a breach of the original agreement with Microsoft, which stipulated “freely available” access to AI breakthroughs. Musk seeks to restore OpenAI’s open-source principles and prevent the commercialization of artificial general intelligence (AGI) technology.
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