Sam Altman's Firing and the AI Wars

[Jon]

I've been following the debacle of Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. He was ousted from his position last Friday, together with another senior colleague, Greg Brockman. Well, now he has joined Microsoft to head up an AI research team. The crazy thing is, Microsoft just invested $10B into OpenAi and it is embedded in their Office 365 suite. With Sam Altman at the wheel, they could end up going in-house with their AI team. The AI wars are heating up!

This is surely going to have a significantly adverse effect on OpenAI and ChatGPT. Many think there will be an exodus of AI talent follow Sam to Microsoft. Many have already pledged their allegiance to Sam and quit.

Could this be the demise of ChatGPT?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Well, in the past Microsoft was known to "pirate" other company talents. Take, for example, Dave Cutler from Digital Equipment Corp., the guy who wrote/contributed to several DEC operating systems including TOPS-10, RSX-11M, and VMS. But then MS got him and he was one of the major contributors to Windows NT. Their tactics are sometimes execrable, but MS knows talent when they see it.

 

[Isaac]

I've been following the debacle of Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. He was ousted from his position last Friday, together with another senior colleague, Greg Brockman. Well, now he has joined Microsoft to head up an AI research team. The crazy thing is, Microsoft just invested $10B into OpenAi and it is embedded in their Office 365 suite. With Sam Altman at the wheel, they could end up going inhouse with their AI team. The AI wars are heating up!

This is surely going to have a significantly adverse effect on OpenAI and ChatGPT. Many think there will be an exodus of AI talent follow Sam to Microsoft. Many have already pledged their allegiance to Sam and quit.

Could this be the demise of ChatGPT?

Not the demise, just like I've been saying since Day 2. ChatGPT is to AI what AOL was to 'the internet'. Pretty soon people realized ChatGPT does not have a 'lock' on AI, rather it just happened to be one of the first implementations of a wildly popular thing. Those companies who are already king of the consumer data (microsoft, google) will probably end up on top once they take their time to implement it more thoroughly.

ChatGPT will probably do well for quite a while to come, merely because its brand is associated with the 'first' or approximately there

 

[jdraw]

Good one Doc -- had to look up execrable

 

[Jon]

The vast majority of AI workers (over 500 of the 700 something employees) have threatened to quit if they don't reinstate Sam Altman. The fact that he is already now at Microsoft doesn't bode will for OpenAI and ChatGPT. A large number of these workers could join Microsoft, which is a bit like Microsoft taking over OpenAI, since they might end up poaching most of their employees.

More than 500 OpenAI staff threaten to QUIT over Sam Altman firing

OpenAI's co-founder Ilya Sutskever and more than 500 other employees have threatened to quit the embattled company after its board dramatically fired CEO Sam Altman on Friday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Last week, OpenAI looked invincible. Today, they look vulnerable and may rapidly collapse.

 

[jdraw]

Excerpt from The Verge

Most of the staff at OpenAI have threatened to resign from the company and join Microsoft, which has hired ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman to lead a new “advanced AI research team.” In a letter to OpenAI’s board that was reported on this morning by Wired and journalist Kara Swisher, more than 500 current OpenAI staffers say that “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join.”

 

[Jon]

This post speaks the truth: https://x.com/varun_mathur/status/1725971418238849154?s=20

 

[AccessBlaster]

This post speaks the truth: https://x.com/varun_mathur/status/1725971418238849154?s=20

I used OpenAI to analyse Varun's opinion, then give me it's opinion. The result was easier to understand then the original text, at least for me.


The message appears to be a strongly worded and pessimistic opinion from someone critical of Mira and Ilya's assumed leadership at OpenAI. The author expresses skepticism about the viability of OpenAI's business model, questions the feasibility of the $80 billion valuation deal, and suggests that the relationship with Microsoft may be strained. The anticipation of key personnel leaving and the prediction of a potential future sale to Microsoft add to the negative tone. Overall, the opinion seems to convey a belief that Mira and Ilya may face significant challenges and may not realize the full potential of OpenAI. It's worth noting that opinions can be subjective, and the actual outcomes may differ from the perspective presented in the message.

 

[Jon]

Nice case example of using AI.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Now it's aware of the deal, oops!

 

[Jon]

Self aware.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Just as a side note, the "Doonesbury" strip has been running an extended storyline in which Mike's company has a new compiler software tool. At a party, a Microsoft employee propositions him ever so delicately and indirectly that he should sell out... but he doesn't. Days later, the company discovers that MS reverse-engineered their tool and offers it MUCH cheaper (or perhaps free with purchase of something else). The company's stock tanks in hours. Of course they offer the story in a semi-humorous vein, but it is a case of inverting an old saying. In THIS case, the Doonesbury story is "too true to be good."

 

[Jon]

Sam survives (and therefore ChatGPT) and is back at OpenAI. The board is ousted and replaced with a new team of wise heads. I'm quite sure those who participated in the coup are licking their wounds now and fearing the oncoming lawsuits.