Sam Altman, the chief executive and co-founder of OpenAI has been ousted from his own company after its board accused him of “being not consistently candid in his communications”, The Guardian reported.
Altman’s dismissal is a major shakeup in Silicon Valley. Following the launch of ChatGPT, the widely popular chatbot developed by OpenAI, Altman became one of the world’s most visible tech executives and a sought-after expert on artificial intelligence.
According to The Guardian, the announcement blindsided employees, many of whom learned of the sudden ouster from an internal announcement and the company’s public facing blog. OpenAI scheduled an emergency all-hands meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the news with employees, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
OpenAI posted a blog titled: “OpenAI announces leadership transition”. From the blog post:
…The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc., the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities announced today that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.
A member of OpenAi’s leadership team for five years, Mira has played a critical role in OpenAi’s evolution into a global AI leader. She brings a unique skill set, understanding of the company’s values, operations, and business, and already leads the company’s research, product and safety functions. Given her long tenure and close engagement with all aspects of the company, including her experience in AI governance and policy, the board believes she is uniquely qualified for the role and anticipates a seamless transition while it conducts a formal search for a permanent CEO.
Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.
In a statement, the board of directors said: “OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We ware grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward. As the leader of the company’s research, product, and safety functions, Mira is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead Open AI during this transition period.”…
CNBC reported that OpenAI’s board includes chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and independent directors such as Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Heather Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology. OpenAI says the board of its 501(c)(3) is the “overall governing body for all OpenAI activities.”
According to CNBC, Sam Altman acknowledged that he was leaving OpenAI in a post on X on Friday, but did not mention any accusations by the firm’s board that he failed to be candid during unspecified reviews. He said he loved working at the company and that he would talk more about “what’s next later.”
In my opinion, the board of directors made a good choice in ousting Sam Altman. I can see why his “not being consistently candid in his communications” would be problematic.