Such a bizarre chain of events
this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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He was fired due to some discrepancy. Nadella said directly that he didn't like it. And when he can't use his 49% to bring Altman back, he hires him himself.
Without sarcasm: that makes total sense to me.
Real bonehead move on behalf of the OpenAI board. The guy is emergency fired in what is basically a shock to everybody including him, then the company panics and realizes they just lost their star racehorse and starts talking about getting him back. It's fucking brain dead. When they fired him, he probably had a hundred job offers before he even made it down to the lobby. Even if whatever he did is truly awful, any company with AI ambitions would kill to have him on their payroll.
MS did well executing quickly here. They took a perfect opportunity to onboard an experienced AI team for pennies vs. what buying the rest of OpenAI would cost. And whatever Sam and his team build next is going to be 100% theirs. Wouldn't be surprised if there's an open job offer for OpenAI employees looking to follow Altman, with the promise of essentially unlimited resources to develop whatever and respect from management. For a talented AI researcher that's a tempting offer.
It will also be interesting to see if Altman ends up demonstrating the dishonest behavior at Microsoft that he's been accused of at OpenAI, with the former inheriting the mess that those who expelled him from the latter were hoping to avoid. His reputation and other endeavors, especially WorldCoin, don't really give me much confidence in him, personally.
I like your take. Altman is a Valley hustler, albeit a talented one who ran YC. But, he’s not technologist or a theorist, and I suspect he’s not that interested in attempting to de-risk AGI anymore, particularly now that he’s experienced the market hype. The staff who want to be billionaires clotted to him; the staff who are committed to the original ethical vision stuck with Ilya.
My little theory is that he was in cahoots with Microsoft re some product roadmap, against the wishes of the board.
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Microsoft was not consulted re his firing as not to alert him or because there's no point asking the revealed adversary.
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Microsoft was "furious" and desperately tried to reinstate him.
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Immediately offered him a job. Effectively undermining their investment in open ai.
Good points all around. There was a headline a day or two ago suggesting Microsoft is ready to put $50 billion into AI. If they are truly as all-in on AI as Meta is/was with VR, then something like this would make sense. OpenAI is of course at the front of things, but Microsoft still owns less than half and still has to answer to other investors.
But while OpenAI has valuable tech, the real value is the researchers who are building the next golden goose. Microsoft seems to understand that.
Look at that open letter. 500 out of 700 employees signed it and are threatening to leave. I think the key there is their equity compensation- many if not most of those 500 people were getting equity, and if OpenAI loses its place at the front of the pack that equity loses a lot of value. And the board just essentially killed their golden goose. So those 500 people are worried about the future of their stock. If it looks like the company is going down, the rats will dessert the sinking ship faster than you can snap your fingers as there will be no shortage of very lucrative offers.
I bet Microsoft is offering a very attractive life preserver for those who jump ship. Wouldn't be surprised if, if a bunch of those people defect, the AI division get some sort of quasi autonomous status or perhaps even its own corporate entity for those employees to own stock in.
Point being- there's a very good chance Microsoft will essentially buy OpenAI for mere pennies by simply hiring the majority of their employees.
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So Microsoft is going to compete with themselves? (Microsoft owns 49% of openai)
"I play both sides so I always come out ahead"
Sam probably still controls a ton of shares, so I think effectively this would give them >50% of shares as long as they are partnering.
Sam had 0 equity in OpenAI. 0 shares.
Watch them flat out buy OpenAI then just reinstate these guys.
If OpenAI wanted to sell out, they wouldn't have fired Altman
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Isn't this effectively an acquihire for $0
Pretty sure Sam and Greg got A LOT of money to get „convinced“ to start at Microsoft
Even if you start dreaming up ludicrous salaries/options, the cost to hire them would be only a fraction of the hit Microsoft would take in the market if not for this play. Satya could comfortably let them name their price and say yes to anything.
This hand was played well by Satya.
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He would join Microsoft. So much for making AI to benefit humanity.
This guy is a former (and current) crypto bro who just pivoted to the next tech buzzword. This shit was never gonna be a benefit to humanity.
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I dont understand why these guys taking another 9-5 job. They already have all the money in the world. Just go travel, enjoy life but no these guys want to be bound by a clock and a manager. Lol
Some people just want power and recognition which you don't get if you just travel and enjoy life.
I could also so it being pretty exciting being at the forefront of a new technology and wanting to put all the things you've learned or been researching to use vs just quitting and feeling like you're wasting that time you've put in. Probably doesn't feel like a job if this is the case.
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Some people, me included, really love our work. It isn’t related to power (for me), just pure enjoyment.
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Being a CEO for a company like this isn't being "bound" to "the clock" of a "9 to 5 job." It's a lifestyle choice for sure, and an aspiration for an even greater lifestyle. But they aren't bound.
CEO has to report to the board. So technically "board" is the manager.
Also in Sam Altmans case , he joined Microsoft so now he is more like "manager" who report to the director and director reports to CEO. Lol the pyramid sounds not so fun.
Microsoft slept on phones and tablets, they are not sleeping on AI. And good! Software has always been Microsoft's superpower.
gets the popcorn
Well, good for them. Jury’s out on if that’s good for us regular schmucks
Software has always been Microsoft's superpower
You mean buying software, right?
Selling software.
Selling bought software
Buying sold software.
Acquiring liquidated software
Or cloning popular software
cough CP/M cough
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OpenAI shot themselves in the legs with a 12-gauge shotgun when they fired Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
Expect Microsoft Copilot to eclipse ChatGPT.
The Board though is unlikely to face any personal consequences though. 3 out of the 4 of them are CEOs of their own companies, with the fourth being OpenAI's chief scientist.
Regardless, this move will very much tank OpenAI since now the advantage is in Microsoft's court.
I see this a lot, but two people, especially those not doing the work, do not make a company. They started something great, but hundreds of talented people have been driving the ship for a long time now.
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They were right, he never opened the technology.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Microsoft has hired OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to head up a “new advanced AI research team,” the software conglomerate’s chief Satya Nadella said Monday, capping three days of intense discussions following the unexpected decision by OpenAI’s board to dismiss Altman.
Nadella said Altman and Brockman will be joined by “colleagues,” suggesting that Microsoft is also hiring many other people who left OpenAI over the weekend.
“We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” said Nadella, in what many tech entrepreneurs labelled as an example of “incredible execution.”
Nadella, whose firm has invested over $10 billion in OpenAI and acquired almost 50% ownership, said the Windows-maker remains committed to the startup.
The decision comes after a tumultuous weekend that saw Altman removed from his role at OpenAI by the organization’s board on Friday.
“The board had a chance to explain their drastic actions and they did not take it,” wrote Andrej Karpathy, a research scientist at OpenAI, on X.
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