Title: OpenAI board faces staff revolt after ousting chief executive
A staff revolt at OpenAI has put pressure on the board of directors at the leading artificial intelligence company to reinstate ousted chief executive Sam Altman after a botched boardroom coup.
More than 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signed a letter to the board expressing their dismay over the firings of Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, stating that the directors had “undermined our mission and company” by the way they handled the situation.
After failed attempts to reinstate Altman, Microsoft announced that they had hired the 38-year-old entrepreneur and Brockman to head a new AI unit. Despite this, Altman indicated that he was still working to secure OpenAI’s future with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The staff who signed the letter said they had been offered positions in the new unit at Microsoft and would take that step unless the current board members resigned and two new lead independent directors were appointed.
The situation has also gained the support of one of the remaining board members, Ilya Sutskever, who expressed regret and apologized for his role in firing Altman.
The board’s decision to remove Altman has caused controversy among some of OpenAI’s prominent venture investors, who believe that a “grave miscalculation” has occurred.
The exact reasoning behind Altman’s ousting remains unclear, but reports suggest concerns about his commitment to OpenAI’s mission of ensuring safe and beneficial AI.
Following the ousting, Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to its partnership with OpenAI, and the company’s share price rose more than 2% on Monday.
The situation at OpenAI has caused a ripple in the industry, as the company’s release of its ChatGPT chatbot a year ago has played a significant role in the AI boom, drawing billions of dollars in investment and spawning dozens of start-ups.