A letter allegedly written by former employees of OpenAI claims that Sam Altman and his co-founder Greg Brockman created a hostile work environment that drove employees out of the company as it moved toward a for-profit model.
The letter, signed only by ‘concerned former OpenAI employees,’ was posted to X by Elon Musk, who famously had a fallout with Altman several years ago about the leadership of the firm.
‘These seem like concerns worth investigating,’ wrote the Tesla mogul.
The letter, dated November 21, 2023, alleges that Altman and Brockman created a hostile work environment at OpenAI that they are asking the new board to investigate.
Specifically, they argue that ‘a significant number of OpenAI employees were pushed out of the company to facilitate its transition to a for-profit model.’
‘Their methods, however, have raised serious doubts about their true intentions and the extent to which they genuinely prioritize the benefit of humanity,’ it reads.
Former OpenAI employees have released a letter complaining about the leadership of Sam Altman (pictured) and Greg Brockman. Altman was reinstated at OpenAI on Tuesday, five days after is shocking ouster
Altman and Brockman have been accused of dishonest and manipulative leadership by alleged former OpenAI employees
Claims of ‘Sam and Greg’s dishonesty and manipulation’ as spelled out in the letter, include:
Commands that came from Sam that later resulted in the firing of employees who listened to him, and Greg failing to use the appropriate language around a ‘gender-transitioning team member.’
The letter also accuses employees who remain at OpenAI for ‘blindly’ following Altman and Brockman’s leadership, ‘even at significant personal cost.’
‘This unwavering loyalty stems from a combination of fear of retribution and the allure of potential financial gains through OpenAI’s profit participation units.’
Notably, when Altman was ousted last weekend, some 700 of the company’s employees threatened to quit and follow their leader to Microsoft, where he was headed at the time.
The letter of unknown origin ends by asking the newly appointed Board of Directors to ‘take a firm stand against these unethical practices and launch an independent investigation into Sam and Greg’s conduct.’
‘The future of artificial intelligence and the well-being of humanity depend on your unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and transparency.’
Greg Brockman (pictured), the co-founder and president of OpenAI, was accused alongside Altman in the letter of dishonest and manipulative
Just five days after his shocking ouster, Altman made a stunning return on November 21st – the same day as the letter is dated – as CEO of OpenAI.
‘I love OpenAI and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together,’ Altman said in a post on X early Wednesday morning.
He thanked Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella for helping to make the stunning reversal happen.
‘When i decided to join [Microsoft] on Sunday evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with [Microsoft].’
In a statement of his own, Nadella credited the changes to the board in getting Altman back to OpenAI.
‘We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,’ he wrote. ‘We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.’
‘Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission.
‘We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.’
OpenAI posted its own statement on X to confirm the announcement.
‘We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,’ they wrote.
‘We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.’
By Monday evening 747 out of 770 of the company’s employees had threatened to quit and join Microsoft if Altman, 38, was not reinstated.
In an internal memo written by Vice President of Global Affairs Anna Makanju and seen by Bloomberg, employees were told on Monday that management was in touch with Altman, the new CEP Emmett Shear and the board ‘but they are not prepared to give us a final response this evening’.
Altman was pulled as CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI over fears he was flouting the dangers of artificial intelligence, a report revealed.
The concerns, aired by a fellow OpenAI board member, culminated with the 38-year-old’s sudden firing Friday – sending the tech world into frenzy, and a storm of speculation.
Founded by Altman and ten others in 2015, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT a year ago – and its ability to mimic human writing has proved polarizing ever since.
Aside from sparking worry amongst the public, this uncertainty was apparently also felt within OpenAI’s six-person board.
Elon Musk founded OpenAI with Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, but in 2018 the billionaire attempted to take control of the start-up.
His request was rejected, forcing him to quit OpenAI and move on with his other projects.
Musk has since attacked the company and says the AI is ‘woke’ and deviates from OpenAI’s original non-profit mission.
‘OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft,’ Musk tweeted in February.
He even signed a letter calling for a pause on the ‘dangerous race’ to develop AI, which they fear poses a ‘profound risk to society and humanity’ and could have ‘catastrophic’ effects.
CEO and Co-founder of Quora Adam D’Angelo (pictured left) will remain on the board of OpenAI
Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is also joining the OpenAI Board of Directors
Former Twitter chair Bret Taylor is another new addition to the OpenAI board
Sam Altman, 38, was pulled as CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI Friday over fears he was flouting the dangers of artificial intelligence, according to a new report
Founded by Altman and ten others in 2015, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT a year ago – and its ability to mimic human writing has proved polarizing ever since
OpenAI, meanwhile, released ChatGPT last November – and the technology has since taken off.
While many remain skeptical – or outright incensed – over the new tool, OpenAI execs have expressed confidence in its future, saying they both ‘believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems.’
More recently, Microsoft provided OpenAI Global LLC with a $10 billion investment, on top of another $1 billion given to the firm in 2019.
By Daily Mail Online, November 22, 2023
