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Comment by tempsy | Hacker News Reader

Apparently Sam isn't in the Microsoft employee directly yet, so he isn't technically hired at all. Seems like he loses a bit of leverage over the board if they think he & Microsoft are actually bluffing and the employment announcement was just a way to pressure the board into resigning.

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Look at the number of tweets from Altman, Brockman and Nadella. I also think they are bluffing. They have launched a media campaign in order to (re)gain control of OpenAI.

I’m sure it might happen. But it hasn’t happened yet.

That doesn’t really mean anything, especially on a holiday week the wheels move pretty slowly at a company that size. It’s not like Sam is hurting for money and really needs his medical insurance to start today.

Point is he loses credibility if the board doesn't think he's actually going through with joining Microsoft and using it as a negotiating tactic to scare them.

Because the whole "the entire company will quit and join Sam" depends on him actually going through with it and becoming an employee.

I see it the other way, Satya has clearly stated that he'd hire Sam and the rest of OpenAI anytime, but as soon as Sam is officially hired it might be seen as a door closing on any chance to revive OpenAI. Satya saying "Securing the talent" could be read as either them working for OpenAI, for microsoft or for a microsoft funded new startup.

I'm pretty sure the board takes the threat seriously regardless.

OAI cares more about the likelihood 90% of the employees leave than what Sam does or doesn't do.

The employees mass resigning depends entirely on whether Sam actually becomes a real employee or not. That hasn't happened yet.

But MS has said they are willing to hire Sam/Greg and the employees have stated that they are willing to follow Sam/Greg.

If you think that Satya will go back on his offer argue that, but otherwise it seems like the players are Sam/Greg and the board.

You make it sound like Prigozhin’s operation.

He will most likely join M$ if the board does not resign, because there is no better move to him then. But he leaves time to the board to see it, adding pressure together with the empoyees. It does not mean he is bluffing (what would be a better move in this case instead?)

All the employees threatening to leave depends on him actually becoming a Microsoft employee. That hasn't happened yet. So everyone is waiting for confirmation that he's indeed an employee because otherwise it just looks like a bluff.

People are waiting for the board decision. It is in Microsoft's interested to return Sam to OpenAI. ChatGPT is a brand at this point. And OpenAI controls bunch of patents and stuff.

But Sam will 100% hired by Microsoft if that won't work. Microsoft has no reason not to.

It was reported elsewhere in the news that MS needed an answer to the dilemma before the market opened this morning. I think that's what we got.

Going to MS doesn’t seem like the best outcome for Sam. His role would probably get marginalized once everything is under Satya’s roof. Good outcome for MS, though.

you serously think being on the employee directory beats being announced publicly by the ceo ?

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