In the weeks after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s sudden removal and subsequent reinstatement, what exactly happened is still a mystery, according to former board member Reid Hoffman.
Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn who served on OpenAI’s board until March, spoke at the LiveWired conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
“Reading the blog post was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Hoffman told attendees. “I still don’t think we fully know.”
Last month, Altman was shockingly removed from his CEO role by three non-employee board members and a third co-founder, which led to co-founder Greg Brockman's resignation and employees threatening to leave the company.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which has invested tens of billions in OpenAI, quickly tapped Altman to lead an AI research team at the company.
“[Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella] is a very high-integrity, genuine leader,” Hoffman said. “And I think he would have hired everybody from OpenAI and then kept going if that was the only path that was left open.”
Then, facing pressure from employees and investors alike, OpenAI brought back Altman and reshaped its board of directors.
There are a number of explanations that have been offered for the five-day circus.
The New York Times reported that OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever was concerned that Altman wasn’t appropriately concerned about AI safety, while The New Yorker reported on a dispute between Altman and Helen Toner, one of the directors who left upon Altman’s return.
However, an OpenAi executive told the company's employees that Altman wasn’t removed due to “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.”
The whole truth still seemingly has yet to emerge, even to Hoffman, one of OpenAi’s original donors. Hoffman, who serves on Microsot’s board, said he hasn’t spoken to OpenAI board members but did speak with Altman.
“I do think that we’re in a much better place in the world” with Altman back at the helm, Hoffman said. “He’s very competent with that.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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