“OpenAI: The Battle of the Board” by Zvi

Previously: OpenAI: Facts from a Weekend.

On Friday afternoon, OpenAI's board fired CEO Sam Altman.

Overnight, an agreement in principle was reached to reinstate Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI, with an initial new board of Brad Taylor (ex-co-CEO of Salesforce, chair), Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.

What happened? Why did it happen? How will it ultimately end? The fight is far from over.

We do not entirely know, but we know a lot more than we did a few days ago.

This is my attempt to put the pieces together.

This is a Fight For Control; Altman Started it

This was and still is a fight about control of OpenAI, its board, and its direction.

This has been a long simmering battle and debate. The stakes are high.

Until recently, Sam Altman worked to reshape the company in his [...]

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Outline:

(00:42) This is a Fight For Control; Altman Started it

(01:12) OpenAI is a Non-Profit With a Mission

(03:20) Sam Altman's Perspective

(05:41) The Outside Board's Perspective

(06:51) Ilya Sutskever's Perspective

(07:52) Altman Moves to Take Control

(11:02) One Last Chance

(14:32) Botched Communications

(16:18) The Negotiation

(18:13) What Now for OpenAI?

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First published:
November 22nd, 2023

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sGpBPAPq2QttY4M2H/openai-the-battle-of-the-board

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.