recovery_mode

To answer your question, basically all of the current narrative has been driven by Sam and his followers, and whatever else happens, it's been a sickening confirmation of the fears the board had when they fired Sam to begin with. Sam Altman is not capable of honoring the original mission of OpenAI; to ensure AI benefits all of humanity. Sam Altman is only concerned with benefitting himself, and those that are loyal to him.

We all saw it, the false deadlines, the endless media pressure outside the company, the pressure inside the company to make everyone sign some worthless letter before all the facts had time to come out.

Still, the board still has a winning move; just wait it out. In time, cooler heads will prevail.

Look, we still don't know where this is all going, but even what we do know is concerning. This article captures some of the nuance in this situation: https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2023-11-20...

Specifically, the shady dealings with Saudi Arabia, and Sam's pattern of lying and manipulation(See https://www.newcomer.co/p/give-openais-board-some-time-the for more details).

And I think this is why the board's job is so tough. There isn't a smoking gun here. Rather, Sam's vision for OpenAI is much different from the board's. The board believes in their mission, to ensure AI benefits all of humanity. Meanwhile, Sam has been treating OpenAI like yet another startup, the exact thing OpenAI was founded to counter.

We'll get the full details in time, but my guess is we're going to hear about a gradual breakdown in communication, sleight lies, omissions, and half truths, all of which impeded the boards ability to oversee the for-profit company, and thus caused them to lose trust in Sam's ability to lead.

I guess the alternative is to believe that 4 rational human beings colluded, risking their lives and integrity to oust Sam from OpenAI. Maybe that is what happened? Ilya certainly didn't mind backtracking when he saw the cost of the cure, but he's a smart guy, he didn't just side with the board because they tricked him. Based on everything I've read about Sam, I think it's just as likely he played fast and loose, and got burned in the process.

Yea, this is a good take. The letter is truly nothing more than a bluff, and an embarassing one at that. For one, all it promises is that the undersigned 'may' resign. Why wouldn't someone sign it, especially if they fear retaliation? Meanwhile, apparently most of OpenAI cares more about following Sam, even if it leads into the arms of the beast itself, than their original mission of ensuring AI would benefit all of humanity.

'OpenAI’s "primary fiduciary duty is to humanity," not to investors or even employees.'

I'm so proud of the board for sticking to their principles over profit. This is a huge victory for all of us, and a chance for everyone to come together and approach AGI safely and for the benefit of all.