Bombshell New Yorker investigation uncovers secret OpenAI memos that led to Sam Altman being fired
A jaw-dropping investigation has reportedly uncovered secret OpenAI memos that led to Sam Altman being fired.
In the report published by the New Yorker, it revealed that the chief scientist of OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, sent secret notes to three other members of the board of directors on whether Altman and his second-in-command Greg Brockman were fit to run the tech firm.
In one memo, Sutskever wrote: “I don’t think Sam is the guy who should have his finger on the button.”
This led to Altman being fired from OpenAI by the board in November 2023.
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Although this didn’t last long as he was reinstated a few days later following backlash from employees and investors.
Altman reportedly demanded those on the board who had moved to fire him to hand in their resignations.
The New Yorker report goes on to claim that Altman said: “I have to pick up the pieces of their mess while I’m in this crazy cloud of suspicion? I was just, like, Absolutely f***ing not.”
Since then, Altman has remained at the head of the company despite continued controversy and left many wondering whether he is the right person to lead such an influential firm.
Now, OpenAI is among one of the most valuable private companies in the world and as of this year, its value ranks between $80 to $100 billion.
This puts it in the company of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, which are respectively worth around $150 billion and over $200 billion.
Altman previously made his hopes clear for future where a majority of people will happily pay the cost of a monthly AI subscription.
Speaking on the matter at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit in Washington DC, he said: “Fundamentally, our business and I think the business of every other model provider is going to look like selling tokens.
“We see a future where intelligence is a utility like electricity or water and people buy it from us on a meter and use it for whatever they want to use it for.”
These statements prompted many people to take to social media to share their own reactions, with one user writing on Reddit: “Why would I do that when I can have an open source model which is just as good running locally? Won't be long before that is possible at scale. These people are so screwed -- rather they will be fine and we will be screwed when this thing pops and the government bails them out and socializes all the losses onto us.”
And another added: “I see a bright future for people who have chosen to not use AI or use AI sustainably to aid their careers and hobbies. I do not see a bright future for AI companies who sold us lies in hope of profit.”