On Saturday, hours after the ChatGPT company disclosed that CEO Sam Altman had been fired in an unexpected move that shocked the AI community, Greg Brockman announced his resignation as president and co-founder of OpenAI.
“I’m super proud of what we’ve all built together since starting in my apartment 8 years ago,” Brockman wrote in a post on the social media site X. “We’ve been through tough & great times together, accomplishing so much despite all the reasons it should have been impossible. But based on today’s news, I quit.”
“Genuinely wishing you all nothing but the best,” Brockman wrote in his post. “I continue to believe in the mission of creating safe (artificial general intelligence) that benefits all of humanity.”
As part of the previously disclosed plans, Brockman was expected to leave his position as board chairman but continue to work for the company, serving as the next CEO’s point of contact.
After a study revealed that Sam Altman was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board of directors, OpenAI announced that he had been fired.
The AI startup said, “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
Since launching ChatGPT a year ago, Altman has become a sought-after expert in Silicon Valley on artificial intelligence’s potential benefits and risks. However, the abrupt and mostly unexplained termination of his company raised questions about the industry’s future.
Regarding Altman’s purported lack of candor, OpenAI refuses to respond. According to the statement, his actions impeded the board’s capacity to carry out its duties.
Altman posted “I loved my time at openai” on X on Friday. “It changed me personally and, hopefully, the world in some small way. Above all, I enjoyed collaborating with individuals of such skill. Will discuss what comes next in more detail later.”
In 2015, Altman assisted in establishing OpenAI as a nonprofit research facility. But ChatGPT’s meteoric rise to fame made Altman a household name as the face of generative AI, a field that creates original text, images, and other forms of media. While on a globe tour this year, he was accosted at a London event by a throng of enthusiastic fans.
He has discussed the possibilities and risks of AI over dinner with several state leaders. Just on Thursday, in San Francisco, where OpenAI is headquartered, he participated in a CEO summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.
“The greatest leap forward of any of the big technological revolutions we’ve had so far,” he claimed, will be AI. He also emphasized the necessity of safeguards and the existential risks that might arise from AI in the future.
Microsoft, a significant investor in OpenAI that has contributed billions of dollars to the company and helped supply the processing power for its AI systems, stated that the change will not impact their partnership.
“We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI, and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we bring this next era of AI to our customers,” said an emailed Microsoft statement.
Altman, now 38, has been regarded as a Silicon Valley wonder since his early 20s despite not having formal AI developer training. In 2014, he was hired to head YCombinator, a business incubator.
OpenAI’s temporary Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, will take over as the acting CEO of OpenAI.
“Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” the company said. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
