The recent turmoil within OpenAI, which unfolded unexpectedly two weeks ago, saw the board of directors ousting CEO Sam Altman. There has been increasing internal dissent within OpenAI, with major investor Microsoft also announcing their support for Sam and his team. This led to a surprising reversal, with Sam returning as the CEO of OpenAI and a restructuring of the board. It is anticipated that there will be a follow-up story explaining the events that transpired.
Charles Duhigg, a reporter from The New Yorker, has been gathering information on OpenAI’s AI development and its relationship with Microsoft for at least six months. He had been in the midst of interviewing Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s CTO, and Mira Murati, OpenAI’s CTO, when this incident occurred. Charles recently shared the latest story, revealing what he learned on that day.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, had already been informed about Sam Altman’s dismissal prior to the public announcement made by OpenAI. However, he had no prior knowledge of what transpired during that time. Satya was in a weekly meeting with his executives when an urgent phone call interrupted them.
The caller was a high-ranking executive from OpenAI who preferred to remain anonymous. He informed Satya that OpenAI would be making a public announcement within the next 20 minutes, announcing Sam’s ousting. Satya was taken aback and immediately called Adam D’Angelo, Quora’s CEO, who is also on OpenAI’s board, to inquire about the details of the situation. Adam explained that Sam had been unable to provide clear communication and information to the board on multiple occasions, similar to the message conveyed in OpenAI’s announcement.
Satya decided to call Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s CTO, who had just learned about the news as well. Together, they quickly arranged a meeting with all top-level executives to discuss how Microsoft should respond to this situation and plan for the future of OpenAI. They came up with three possible courses of action.
Plan A aimed to alleviate the situation by expressing Microsoft’s support for Mira Mur
Leave a Comment