OpenAI Announces via Statement to Employees
"Emmett Shear Possesses Technology and Expertise"
The return of Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI who was called the 'father of ChatGPT,' has ultimately fallen through. Immediately after his dismissal, investors pushed back, leading to negotiations between the board and Altman for his reinstatement, but in the end, they failed to bridge their differences, and OpenAI appointed a new interim CEO.
On the 19th (local time), the U.S. tech media outlet The Information reported that Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist, informed employees that former CEO Altman would not be returning.
Following the board's sudden announcement on the 17th, negotiations between the board and former CEO Altman continued throughout the weekend. Even until the afternoon of the 19th, Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, who left the company alongside Altman after his dismissal, met with OpenAI executives in San Francisco, but the talks ended in failure. Altman posted a photo of himself wearing an OpenAI visitor badge lanyard on his social media platform X, writing, "This is the first and last time I wore this."
Altman was willing to return to OpenAI but demanded changes in governance, including the dismissal of the existing board members.
Alongside the news of the failed negotiations with Altman, OpenAI announced that Emmett Shear, co-founder of the video streaming company Twitch, would become the new interim CEO. It is interpreted that this change was made after OpenAI executives, including CTO Mira Murati, who served as interim CEO immediately following Altman's dismissal, sided with Altman. The board described Shear as possessing "a unique combination of technology, expertise, and relationships to advance OpenAI."
Shear stepped down as Twitch CEO earlier this year. According to Bloomberg, citing a source, the OpenAI board selected Shear as the next interim CEO because he, having built and led Twitch into a successful video platform for over a decade, appears to recognize the existential threats posed by AI.
This means that amid the 'culture war' within the AI industry over Altman's dismissal, interim CEO Shear shares a similar perspective with the board, which was at odds with former CEO Altman. Some view this incident as a clash between developers who worry that AI technology development could pose an existential threat to humanity and thus advocate for slowing down, and those who believe regulation should not hinder technological progress amid the rapid growth of the generative AI market.
Former CEO Altman publicly advocated for the need for 'guardrails' to ensure safe AI development while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of developing powerful AI models. Altman’s stance blends both groups' views but leans more toward technological advancement, whereas the remaining OpenAI executives reportedly prioritize the necessity of strong regulation. This is why foreign media interpret that interim CEO Shear shares similar views with the remaining OpenAI management.
Attention is focused on how investors, led by Microsoft (MS), who pushed for Altman's return, will respond to OpenAI's decision. Satya Nadella, MS CEO, along with Strive Capital, OpenAI's second-largest shareholder, strongly advocated for Altman's reinstatement, putting intense pressure on the board that abruptly dismissed Altman on the 17th to reverse their decision within a day. Bloomberg assessed that "the board 'ignored' investor pressure and hired Shear."
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