ChatGPT-maker Open AI pushes out co-founder and CEO Sam Altman; Here's why
San Francisco (PTI/AP): The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.
“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the company said in a statement Friday.
It has appointed Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, to an interim CEO role effective immediately as it begins a search for a permanent replacement.
The company did not immediately respond to request for comment on what the alleged lack of candour was about..
The statement said Altman’s behaviour was hindering the board’s ability to exercise its responsibilities.
Altman posted Friday on X, formerly Twitter: “I loved my time at OpenAI. It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all I loved working with such talented people. Will have more to say about what’s next later.”
Altman helped start OpenAI as a non-profit research laboratory in 2015.
But in the past year, he was thrust into the global spotlight as the face of OpenAI after ChatGPT exploded into public consciousness.
On a world tour earlier this year, he was mobbed by a crowd of adoring fans at an event in London.
He predicted AI will prove to be “the greatest leap forward of any of the big technological revolutions we’ve had so far”.
But he also acknowledged the need for guardrails to protect humanity from the existential threat posed by the quantum leaps being taking by computers.
“I really think the world is going to rise to the occasion and everybody wants to do the right thing,” Altman said.
As part of the transition announced on Friday, OpenAI’s president and board chairman, Greg Brockman, will be stepping down as chairman of the board but will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO. The statement gave no explanation for that change.
The company said its board consists of OpenAI’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, and three non-employees: Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Centre for Security and Emerging Technology.
OpenAI’s key business partner, Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars into the start-up and helped provide the computing power to run its AI systems, said on Friday that the transition will not affect its relationship.
“We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we bring this next era of AI to our customers,” said an emailed Microsoft statement.
Altman, now 38, has been seen as a Silicon Valley wunderkind since his early 20s. He was recruited in 2014 to take lead of the start-up incubator YCombinator by its co-founder, venture capitalist Paul Graham.
Altman’s exit “is indeed shocking as he has been the face of” generative AI technology, said Gartner analyst Arun Chandrasekaran.
He said OpenAI still has a “deep bench of technical leaders” but its next executives will have to steer it through the challenges of scaling the business and meeting the expectations of regulators and society.
Forrester analyst Rowan Curran speculated that Altman’s departure, “while sudden,” did not likely reflect deeper business problems.
“This seems to be a case of an executive transition that was about issues with the individual in question, and not with the underlying technology or business,” Curran said.
Altman has a number of possible next steps. Even while running OpenAI, he placed large bets on several other ambitious projects.
Among them are Helion Energy, for developing fusion reactors that could produce prodigious amounts of energy from the hydrogen in seawater, and Retro Biosciences, which aims to add 10 years to the human lifespan using biotechnology. Altman also co-founded Worldcoin, a biometric and cryptocurrency project that’s been scanning people’s eyeballs with the goal of creating a vast digital identity and financial network.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India's neighbours wanted to break up Assam but Modi govt shattered their dreams: Fadnavis
Dibrugarh/Jorhat (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday claimed India's neighbours wanted to "break up" Assam by taking advantage of the unrest here earlier, but their "dreams were shattered" as the Narendra Modi government brought peace to the region.
Militancy has come to an end, and 92 per cent of the assurances made in the peace agreements with various groups have already been implemented, he told a poll rally.
Fadnavis maintained that the BJP-led government in Assam has not only ensured the state's development but also protected its identity.
He accused the Congress of having neglected the state and the northeastern region by adopting a "step-motherly attitude" towards them, while Modi has put the region at the centre of development.
Addressing a rally in support of BJP's Dibrugarh candidate Prasanta Phukan, Fadnavis said, "Due to the unrest in the state earlier, neighbouring countries thought they would break Assam someday. But their dreams were shattered by Modi ji, and Assam is progressing fast today."
Crediting the BJP government for bringing the militant groups to the mainstream, the Maharashtra chief minister said not only were peace accords signed with them, but 92 per cent of the assurances made have been implemented.
"Work is on for implementing the remaining eight per cent of promises also," he added.
Highlighting the various welfare measures of the state government, Fadnavis said special emphasis was being given on women's empowerment in line with the Centre's thrust on it.
"Women have benefited the most under Modiji's government. It will be 'Mahila raaj' from 2029 when 33 per cent reservation is implemented in Parliament and state Assemblies," he added.
Speaking at another rally in support of the BJP's Jorhat candidate Hitendra Nath Goswami earlier, the Maharashtra chief minister alleged that infiltration was at its peak in Assam under Congress governments.
"People had to launch a movement against it, and scores were martyred. But the influx did not stop, and the state was burning. It was staring at a full demographic change."
"But the situation changed when Modi came to power. Infiltration has been stopped, and almost all militant groups in the state are returning to the mainstream," he claimed.
Fadnavis claimed that the state's demography would have changed and Assam's history would have been rewritten under the Congress rule.
"But the Modi government works not just for development, but also protects the state's identity, culture, history, and tradition," he said.
He told the gathering that the BJP-led government has ensured massive infrastructure development for the state.
Mentioning the Tata Group's semiconductor unit at Jagiroad, Fadnavis said, "It is a gift of Modi ji to Assam. It will place the state on the global map."
He added that countries with the ability to manufacture semiconductors will be global leaders in the future, and India has joined the elite ranks of a handful of nations.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Fadnavis alleged it had always adopted a "step-motherly attitude" towards the northeast, due to which the region did not see much development, and was embroiled in unrest.
He also criticised the opposition party for its "anti-national stance" during the West Asia crisis, claiming it was trying to create discontentment among the people by raising false doubts over the availability of LPG and fuel.
"We had also been in the opposition, but we had never acted in such a shameful manner," he said.
Taking a dig at state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, who is also the opposition party's candidate in Jorhat, Fadnavis said, "Those in Lok Sabha should remain there. BJP will return to power, and he will have no work here."
Gogoi is also the opposition party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
