This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/business/media/openai-sam-altman-why.html

The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 10 Version 11
What Happened in the World of Artificial Intelligence? What Happened in the World of Artificial Intelligence?
(1 day later)
The world of artificial intelligence looked very different on Monday, after a weekend of upheaval at OpenAI, one of the world’s most prominent A.I. companies. The abrupt ouster of Sam Altman on Friday as chief executive of OpenAI, one of the world’s most prominent A.I. companies and the maker of ChatGPT, set off a head-spinning series of twists that culminated late Tuesday with Mr. Altman’s reinstatement at the company he founded and pledges to overhaul the way OpenAI is run.
The abrupt ouster of Sam Altman as chief executive of OpenAI on Friday has scrambled the industry, with investors, executives and others getting to grips with a head-spinning series of twists that reshuffled the major players at the forefront of one the hottest areas in technology. The turmoil highlighted an unresolved debate over artificial intelligence, which many see as the most important new technology since web browsers but also a potential source of danger if misused.
In the end, after OpenAI rejected appeals to restore Mr. Altman to the top job, Microsoft, the company’s biggest investor, announced on Sunday it would hire him to run a new advanced research lab. The announcement restored Microsoft’s stock price, which had slumped after the ouster. Here’s what you need to know about Mr. Altman’s departure, his return and what could happen next.
More broadly, the turmoil highlighted an unresolved debate over artificial intelligence, which many see as the most important new technology since web browsers but also as potential danger if misused. On Friday, Mr. Altman was dismissed as OpenAI’s chief executive. A dispute with a colleague appears to have played a role.
Ilya Sutskever, a board member who founded OpenAI with Mr. Altman and several others, was said to be growing alarmed that the company’s technology could pose a significant risk, and that Mr. Altman was not paying close enough attention to the potential harms. He and three other members of OpenAI’s six-member board decided to dismiss Mr. Altman.
The board was tight-lipped about its reasons, noting only that Mr. Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board.” Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president who along with Mr. Altman also served on the company’s board, quit in protest.
The firing led to confusion among employees at OpenAI, and distress among the company’s investors. Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in the company, was said to be particularly alarmed and with other investors pressed the board over the weekend to reinstate Mr. Altman, without success.