"I Deeply Regret Altman's Dismissal," Says Sutskver

Ilia Sutskever, who said he "deeply regrets" participating in the dismissal of Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, is the chief scientist who co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015.

Sam Altman (left) listening to Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and chief scientist of OpenAI, during a lecture held in Tel Aviv, Israel, last June.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Born in Russia and of Israeli-Canadian descent, he earned his Ph.D. under Professor Geoffrey Hinton, a world-renowned authority in deep learning at the University of Toronto. He then worked as a researcher in the Stanford University lab of another deep learning pioneer, Professor Andrew Ng. He conducted research on various AI-related topics including neural networks, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and artificial general intelligence (AGI). Later, he joined DNN Research, a computer vision startup founded by Professor Hinton, which was acquired by Google in 2013, after which he worked as a researcher at Google Brain. At Google, he led the launches of TensorFlow and AlphaGo.

In 2015, when Elon Musk, who was in conflict with Larry Page over views on AI, co-founded OpenAI with Altman, Sutskever was recruited as a co-founder and chief scientist, leading the design of ChatGPT and GPT-4. However, it is known that he had significant differences with Altman regarding the pace of AI development, product commercialization methods, and steps to minimize potential harm to the public. Through media interviews, Sutskever consistently expressed the position that "efforts to enhance AI safety are necessary." In July, he even formed a specialized team within OpenAI to research controlling "superintelligent" AI systems. However, it is reported that his role within OpenAI was reduced due to friction with Altman and board chairman Greg Brockman. His participation in the board that dismissed Altman appears to have stemmed from this background.

Meanwhile, on the 20th (local time), Sutskever posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "I deeply regret participating in the board's action (to oust Altman). I had no intention of harming OpenAI," and subsequently added his name to a statement demanding the resignation of the board members.