Emmett Shear, co-founder of Twitch, has been appointed as the interim CEO of OpenAI following the shock exit of co-founder Sam Altman.
Initially, Mira Murati, the CTO, replaced Altman, but the board later chose Shear. In a further weekend twist to the drama, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the hiring of Altman and Greg Brockman, another OpenAI co-founder, to head the software giant's AI research.
Shear, known for advocating a more cautious approach to AI development, aligns with Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s remaining co-founder.
Following Altman's exit, many OpenAI investors and employees supported his reinstatement.
The company now faces challenges in retaining investor support and managing employee dissatisfaction. OpenAI's board, set up to develop AI for humanity's benefit, has been forced to balance commercial interests with its founding principles.
According to weekend reports, internal debates at OpenAI had been growing over the pace of AI technology commercialisation, with Altman pushing for rapid advancement.
Altman was fired on Friday after being accused of not being “consistently candid in communications”, though it's not clear what specifically precipitated the shock action.