End of an era: Sam Altman exits OpenAI, Mira Murati takes helm

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the visionary behind ChatGPT, one of the world's leading artificial intelligence applications, has been ousted from his position.

The company released a statement on Friday, asserting that Altman's conduct impeded the board's responsibilities, and they concluded he lacked sincerity in communication.

"We no longer have confidence in Altman's ability to lead OpenAI," the company emphasized.

Mira Murati, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed as the interim replacement for Sam Altman, according to the board of directors.

The OpenAI board of directors has said that Mira Murati, the company's chief technology officer, will temporarily replace Altman.

"We are grateful for Sam's contribution to the founding and growth of OpenAI. We believe we need a new leader," they said.

Following Altman's dismissal, OpenAI Co-founder and President Greg Brockman announced his resignation. In a social media post, he confirmed remaining on the board but noted his and Altman's removal from it.

"Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today," Brockman said.

Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.

Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.

We too are still trying to figure out exactly…

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

MICROSOFT TO CONTINUE INVESTMENTS

Microsoft, a significant investor in OpenAI, affirmed its commitment despite the leadership changes. "We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI, and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and her team as we bring the next era of AI to our customers," stated Microsoft in a response to The Verge. CEO Satya Nadella also reassured continued investments in OpenAI.

As you saw at Microsoft Ignite this week, we're continuing to rapidly innovate for this era of AI, with over 100 announcements across the full tech stack – from AI systems, models, and tools in Azure, to Copilot. Most importantly, we're committed to delivering all of this to our…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 17, 2023

While rumors circulated about Altman collaborating with Jony Ive, Apple's former design head, to create the "iPhone of artificial intelligence," Altman denied these speculations at a Wall Street Journal conference.

Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI, initially served as co-chairman with Elon Musk. However, Musk departed in 2018 due to a potential conflict of interest with Tesla, pursuing his own AI initiative, xAI. Altman bid farewell to the company he co-founded, expressing that he "had a really good time" at OpenAI.

i love you all.

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.

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 18, 2023

Source: The Verge