Sam Altman fired, Turmoil at OpenAI, and more AI news | Blue Hour Ep 33

Blue Hour

Join us this week as we dive into the latest news around OpenAI and Microsoft. Sam Altman, former CEO and figurehead of OpenAI, was fired end of day Friday, November 17th. Apart from a rather cryptic statement from the OpenAI board, there’s no confirmation and much conjecture as to what precipitated this decision. Greg Brockman, previous director of the board, was demoted and quit shortly thereafter. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, with significant investments in OpenAI, called for a board meeting over the weekend, already spurring talk of bringing Altman back as CEO of OpenAI. Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s Chief Scientist and one of the names on the board’s initial statement to remove Altman, was quick to backtrack and embrace the momentum shift. Interestingly, roughly 700 out of 770 employees within OpenAI agreed they would leave the company if Altman isn’t brought back. Perhaps a reminder that despite the incredible AI advancements, those behind it aren't impervious to the drama. We explore some possibilities that could spur such turmoil, but the good news is the API is still up, so take advantage of the chaos and build!