Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, has been hired by Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. This news comes after Altman was surprisingly ousted from OpenAI by the board for being “not consistently candid”. The decision to hire Altman is seen as a “ninja-level move” by Microsoft.
OpenAI is the company behind the viral chatbot ChatGPT, which Altman co-founded and led as CEO. The company fired Altman on Friday, and an internal investigation found that he was not always truthful with the board. Altman’s departure has caused shockwaves in the budding AI industry, with OpenAI employees threatening a mass exodus in the wake of his termination.
As to who and/or why the board let go of their CEO, a clue might be found in Altman's post after being let go.
i love you all.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 18, 2023
today was a weird experience in many ways. but one unexpected one is that it has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive. the outpouring of love is awesome.
one takeaway: go tell your friends how great you think they are.
i love you all --> ILYA
Ilya Sutskever is the chief scientist of OpenAI and a member of its board of directors. He is a renowned researcher in the field of deep learning and has made significant contributions to the development of the field. Sutskever is also one of the co-founders of OpenAI.
Over the weekend, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pounced on the situation and announced that Altman will be leading a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft. This move is expected to bolster Microsoft’s AI capabilities and research efforts. Altman’s experience and expertise in the field of AI is set to make him an extremely valuable addition to Microsoft’s team.
To add to the drama and dysfunction, Ilya Sutskever has publicly admitted to making a mistake in a feeble attempt to get Altman to rejoin OpenAI.
I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.
— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023
We shall see what is to come in the coming weeks and months. Much speculation that many more (ie hundreds) of defectors from OpenAI could be joining Altman in this move. This could spell the start of the end for OpenAI and a major boon for Microsoft.