Sam and the 'Control Altman Delete' Campaign

Hey Everyone,

So here at Machine Learning Times, we are going to be mixing it up a little. This Newsletter will be focusing primarily on Breaking News and how AI is developing at major companies like OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft and others. We will also deal with startup AI news to some extent. We will typically publish at 7am or 7pm EST.

The counter-coup against the OpenAI board is nearly complete by Satya Nadella and Sam Altman. The fate of OpenAI’s board seems in great doubt.

Hundreds of OpenAI employees have signed a letter demanding the board resign or face an employee exodus to Sam Altman’s new venture at Microsoft “imminently.”

Read the Letter

The most puzzling part of all of this is Ilya Sutskever is among the signatories.

He seems too, to have conceded defeat to the great Sam Altman.

This means Sam Altman is likely to be reinstated as CEO and have total control over the “board” that will remain. Likely with handpicked new board members that better reflect his and Microsoft’s intentions moving forwards.

This means the Microsoft will gain even more control over OpenAI than anyone thought possible as the majority of their employees want the huge pay day that their 86 Billion valuation would provide. This isn’t necessarily about loyalty to Sam Altman, but the dollar value he represents.

That original number of 505 supporters at OpenAI is now over 700. OpenAI has about 770 employees.

The Guardian: Ilya: The AI scientist shaping the world

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Microsoft will have managed to get the AI trust and safety friendly board, fired.

Board of the OpenAI nonprofit:

• Ilya Sutskever.

• Adam D'Angelo.

• Tasha McCauley.

• Helen Toner.

And it really comes down to Sam Altman also gaining even more control.

In 2023 AI isn’t real, but human connections are and Sam Altman is one VC and corporate connected Silicon Valley young AI executive.

[link]

Sam Altman was definitely in love with creating OpenAI over the last four years. And before long, he should have complete control in partnership with Microsoft.

Should Ilya Sutskever continue with Microsoft’s OpenAI?

If Sam Altman regains control of OpenAI, which seems now 90% likely, should Ilya be allowed to continue? He remains in the camp that believe AGI should be developed more slowly and carefully.

In an about-face and of the most confusing parts of the reaction to the OpenAI board’s coup to fire Altman is Suskever’s apparent reversal. Sutskever name appears as a signature on the letter. He wrote Monday morning on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that he “deeply” regretted his participation in the “board’s actions.”

The board then attempted to negotiate Altman’s return, but those talks were unsuccessful. It’s not clear if Microsoft’s internal R&D Lab is even a real thing or was simply a tactic used to regain control of OpenAI.

The New “CEO” of OpenAI appear to be an interim one as well.

OpenAI have a history of poaching talent and even Salesforce is trying to do the same at this moment of uncertainty. But talent goes where the money will be.

Majority of OpenAI staff threaten to quit unless Sam Altman is reinstated

Here’s the full note, emphasis theirs:

“To the Board of Directors at OpenAI,

OpenAI is the world’s leading AI company. We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers. Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global norms. The products we built are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and cherish has never been in a stronger position.

The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company. Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.

When we all unexpectedly learned of your decision, the leadership team of OpenAI acted swiftly to stabilize the company. They carefully listened to your concerns and tried to cooperate with you on all grounds. Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They also increasingly realized you were not capable of carrying out your duties, and were negotiating in bad faith.

The leadership team suggested that the most stabilizing path forward - the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public - would be for you to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability. Leadership worked with you around the clock to find a mutually agreeable outcome. Yet within two days of your initial decision, you again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati against the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed “would be consistent with the mission.”

Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.”

Sam Altman may or may not be the Steve Jobs of A.I. I’m sure Satya Nadella wouldn’t mind if we perceive him that way. This coup at OpenAI will likely give Microsoft nearly full control over its future. It’s hard to fathom any other conclusion given the vibe of Monday November 20th, 2023, but this story has been developing nearly every day since Friday.

OpenAI’s future is still up in the air, technically. The conclusion of the employee rebellion at OpenAI is yet to be determined.

The commercialization of GPT-5’s product is likely to be the real coup even as today both Microsoft and Nvidia’s stock soar to new all-time highs.

Sam Altman may deserve a bonus in his glorious return to the CEO position many of us expect to unfold.