Over 500 employees of OpenAI have threatened to resign from the company en masse amidst a controversial shakeup in the company’s leadership.
The crisis began with the unexpected ousting of CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman from the board.
The heart of this is an open letter signed by a significant portion of OpenAI’s workforce, including notable figures like Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist.
The letter directly challenges the board’s recent decisions, stating, “The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company.”
Ilya Sutskever, who reportedly played a key role in the boardroom coup against Altman, expressed regret over his actions in a post on X, saying, “I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI.”
I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.
— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023
The full letter says:
“To the Board of Directors at OpenAI,
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 safety and governance shapes global norms. The products we built are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and cherish has never been in a stronger position.
The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company. Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.
When we all unexpectedly learned of your decision, the leadership team of OpenAI acted swiftly to stabilize the company. They carefully listened to your concerns and tried to cooperate with you on all grounds. Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They also increasingly realized you were not capable of carrying out your duties, and were negotiating in bad faith.
The leadership team suggested that the most stabilizing path forward – the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public – would be for you to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability.
Leadership worked with you around the clock to find a mutually agreeable outcome.
Yet within two days of your initial decision, you again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati against the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed “would be consistent with the mission.”
Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees.
We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should 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.”
Altman and Brockman join Microsoft
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman would lead a new advanced AI research unit at Microsoft.
This announcement came shortly after OpenAI’s board decided against reinstating Altman as CEO despite considering it initially.
Following the upheaval, Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, was appointed as interim CEO before being replaced by Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch. This rapid change in leadership has only added to the uncertainty and unrest within the company.
The board’s actions have been met with backlash not only from the employees but also from key investors.
The open letter from the staff makes it clear: “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join.”
The exact reasons behind Altman’s removal remain unclear. The open letter criticizes the board’s lack of transparency, stating, “Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence.”
This crisis at OpenAI is not just about a leadership struggle but also reflects the larger tensions in the AI industry over the pace and direction of AI development.
OpenAI’s unusual governance structure, designed to ensure the safe development of AI, has contributed to its predicament.
This level of insurrection at the “world’s most important company” is not a good look.
