The global AI community has been left in chaos following the sudden removal of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI. Many people now wonder what the outcome of the development would be for the company and the future of generative AI technology.
Sam Altman Suddenly Ousted From OpenAI
Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, and under his leadership, the company made significant strides in developing cutting-edge AI technologies. OpenAI is best known for its work on large language models (LLMs), especially ChatGPT, which is the most advanced AI-powered chatbot.
OpenAI initially began as a non-profit. However, Altman later transitioned the company into a capped-profit entity due to the exorbitant cash needed to train AI models. Since the move, the company has gone to raising funds from several investors, including Microsoft, which reportedly controls about 49% of OpenAI’s shares.
The reasons for Altman’s removal as CEO remain unknown. However, the company’s board stated in a blog post published on November 17th that they “no longer has confidence” in Altman’s leadership because “he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board.”
Following the news of Altman’s defenestration, Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder, and some of the executives of the company tabled in their resignation letters.
What Does This for OpenAI and The Future of AI
The long-term impact of Altman’s departure remains uncertain, but the development leaves the company in a critical state, leadership-wise.
With Altman removed people speculate there could be a shift in priorities at OpenAI, away from pure research and towards more commercial applications. Many had speculated that the reason for Altman’s defenestration was due to disagreement on how the firm should balance between generating income and the safe release of its models.
Commercializing OpenAI products puts the company at odds with other AI research companies, such as DeepMind, which is committed to open-source research.
Given Altman has been the face behind the generative AI revolution. It is also possible that his departure will lead to a fragmentation of the AI community, where many AI researchers may start to work in silos, pursuing their own agendas without regard for the broader implications of their work.
The development has also heightened the call for decentralised AI alternatives. With a decentralized AI, the control of AI is disrupted over a number of different entities, making it more difficult for any one entity to abuse its power.
