Altmans

Almost a week has passed since the OpenAI board fired CEO Sam Altman without explaining its actions. By Tuesday, the board reinstated Altman and appointed a new board to oversee the OpenAI operations. An investigation into what happened was also promised, something I believe all ChatGPT users deserve. We’re talking about a company developing an incredibly exciting resource, AI. But also one that could eradicate humanity. Or so some people fear. Theories were running rampant in the short period between Altman’s…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Your guide to talking about climate tech over Thanksgiving Ah, the holidays. Time for good food, quality moments with family, and hard questions about climate change … or is that just us? Our climate reporter Casey Crownhart has been in the middle of plenty of heated conversations around the dinner table. And although you might be tempted to sneak away or…

It's been quite a week for ChatGPT-maker OpenAI — and co-founder Sam Altman.Altman, who helped start OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab back in 2015, was removed as CEO Friday in a sudden and mostly unexplained exit that stunned the industry. And while his chief executive title was swiftly reinstated just days later, a lot of questions are still up in the air. If you're just catching up on the OpenAI saga and what's at stake for the artificial intelligence space as a whole, you've come to the right place. Here's a…

The OpenAI power struggle that captivated the tech world after co-founder Sam Altman was fired has finally reached its end — at least for the time being. But what to make of it? It feels almost as though some eulogizing is called for — like OpenAI died and a new, but not necessarily improved, startup stands in its midst. Ex-Y Combinator president Altman is back at the helm, but is his return justified? OpenAI’s new board of directors is getting off to a less diverse start (i.e. it’s entirely white and male), and the…

Sam Altman's return as CEO is a major development for OpenAI, a company that has played aSam Altman's return as CEO is a major development fo pivotal role in shaping public perceptions of AI. However, questions remain as to why he was fired in the first place and what was the need for all this drama…

OpenAI said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, capping frenzied discussions about the future of the startup at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.Here's what analysts and investors say about the agreement: DANNI HEWSON, HEAD OF FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AT AJ BELL:"There are still huge questions about why Altman was fired and why Microsoft had seemingly been kept in the dark about the decision. What does seem clear is that Microsoft will now play a much…

On Tuesday, I wrote about how the real brand winner in this whole imbroglio was Microsoft, in how both stating that it had hired Altman to head up its internal AI research lab and continuing its partnership with OpenAI, it hedged its bet in a way that burnishes the $2.8 trillion market cap company’s brand image as a shrewd innovator and signified that it is the place to do the most exciting work in AI.Just a day later, it’s clear the biggest boost in brand image has been to Altman’s own. The reaction to his initial firing…

Open AI’s new boss is the same as the old boss. But the company—and the artificial intelligence industry—may have been profoundly changed by the past five days of high-stakes soap opera. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, cofounder and figurehead, was removed by the board of directors on Friday. By Tuesday night, after a mass protest by the majority of the startup’s staff, Altman was on his way back, and most of the existing board was gone. But that board, mostly independent of OpenAI’s operations, bound to a “for the good of…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly LinkedIn newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. If a friend or colleague shared this newsletter with you, you can sign up to receive it every week here.Does Altman’s return signal a victory of vested interests over AI safety?The tech industry was still reverberating from OpenAI’s surprise firing of CEO Sam Altman late last week when the announcement came late Tuesday that an agreement (“in principle”) had been reached for Altman to return as…

Updated Nov. 22, 2023 7:14 am ETListen to article(2 minutes)Sam Altmanwas in Las Vegas for the biggest party of the weekend, the Formula One race, when he opened the Google Meet link that would set off a whiplash-inducing corporate power struggle about the future of artificial intelligence. In the moments before he clicked on the link in his hotel room, the 38-year-old CEO was living a charmed life. Ever since his company, OpenAI, ushered in the AI age a year ago with the release of ChatGPT, Altman had been jet setting…