The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies

The unexpected removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unfolded rapidly, leading to both his departure and the resignation of co-founder Greg Brockman. Brockman, who was also demoted, shed light on the abrupt sequence of events in a post on Twitter. The leadership change, which sent shockwaves through the AI industry, reportedly stemmed from tensions between Altman, advocating aggressive AI development, and the OpenAI board, favoring a more cautious approach.

According to Brockman’s joint statement with Altman, the unfolding events began with Altman receiving a text message from co-founder Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist, asking him to attend a meeting the following day. Altman, in the meeting on Google Meet, was informed of his termination by Sutskever. Brockman, who was not part of the meeting, later received a text from Sutskever, followed by a Google Meet link, where he learned about his removal from the board while retaining his role.

Contributing to the decision were concerns raised by Sutskever, exacerbated by OpenAI’s recent developer conference and the announcement allowing anyone to create their own versions of ChatGPT. This marked an inflection point where Altman’s push for rapid progress clashed with the board’s caution.

In OpenAI’s announcement of Altman’s firing, the company cited his lack of “candid” communication hindering the board’s responsibilities. The suddenness of the decision left key partners, including Microsoft, a major investor, and integrated OpenAI’s technology into Bing search, unaware until just before the public announcement.

Altman, responding on Twitter, expressed gratitude for working with talented people at OpenAI and hinted at sharing more about his next steps. Brockman reassured that he and Altman would be fine, teasing “greater things coming soon.” OpenAI has not yet commented on the accounts provided by Brockman and other sources.