Everything seemed to be resolved in the grotesque situation that has been experienced with the dismissal of Sam Altman by OpenAI and his subsequent signing by Microsoft, but nothing of the sort. As revealed in Wired, a surprise mutiny on board the artificial intelligence company threatens to leave it without 70% of its workforce.
Let the board of directors resign. In an open letter signed by 490 of OpenAI’s 700 employees, they demand the board resign. “The board process by which you fired Sam Altman and caused Greg Brockman to resign has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and our company,” they explain. “Your conduct has made it clear that you did not have the capacity to oversee OpenAI.”
Ilya Sutskever apologizes. Both Bloomberg and the Financial Times have revealed that one of the main instigators of the “coup d’état” at OpenAI was Ilya Sutskever, its Chief Scientist, who seemed concerned about the security of these models. A few minutes ago Sutskever indicated on X that he was “deeply sorry for my involvement in the board’s actions” and that he would try “to do everything possible to bring the company back together.” Sam Altman quoted him including three heart emojis, as if accepting those apologies.
Mira Murati joins the petition. The engineer who was appointed interim CEO of the company after Altman’s ouster soon showed her support for her former boss and tried to push for his return to the company on Saturday, hours after news of his dismissal broke. She is another signatory to that open letter, which has been shared by journalists such as Kara Swisher.
Emmet Shear, in a terrible position. OpenAI’s board of directors appointed former TwitchCEO Emmet Shear as the new interim CEO (but not just CEO) of the company on Sunday, and he posted a lengthy message on X with the action plan he had in mind to put in place in the first 30 days at the helm of OpenAI. He ended by saying “it’s one o’clock in the morning and I’ll pick this up tomorrow.” By now he is probably learning of this unique mutiny on board, but so far he has not shared comments on X or other media.
Employees threaten to sign on with Microsoft. In the open letter the employees threaten the board that “Microsoft has assured us that there are jobs for all OpenAI employees at their new subsidiary if we decide to join.”
The letter. The translated and complete open letter is as follows:
“To the OpenAI Board of Directors,
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 security and governance shapes global standards. The products we have created are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and cherish has never been in such a strong position.
The process through which you fired Sam Altman and caused Greg Brockman to resign from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and our company. Your conduct has made it clear that you did not have the necessary capacity to oversee OpenAI.
When we all unexpectedly learned of their decision, the OpenAI management team acted quickly to stabilize the company. They listened carefully to your concerns and tried to cooperate with you in every aspect. Despite numerous requests for specific facts for your allegations, you never provided any written evidence. Moreover, you became increasingly aware that you were not capable of performing your duties and that you were negotiating in bad faith.
The management team suggested that the most stable path forward – the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public – would be for you to step down and put in place a qualified board that could run the company with stability. Management worked with you day and night to find a mutually acceptable solution. However, within two days of your initial decision, you again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati against the interests of the company. They also informed the management team that allowing the destruction of the company “would be consistent with the mission.”
Your actions have made it clear that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We cannot work for or with people who lack the ability, judgment and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, could choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary led by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees in this new subsidiary if 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.”