The article also reports on some behind-the-scenes details, such as the board's haste to fire Altman before he could prevent his removal, and the fact that Altman's reinstatement came with some concessions. The board had been seeking new members prior to the firing, and had considered Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce. The article also debunks some rumors, stating that the board never received any formal communication about Q*, an AI model that reportedly raised concerns among staff, nor did they receive a letter from OpenAI staffers that was posted on GitHub by Elon Musk.
Key takeaways:
- The OpenAI team that showed up to work today looks almost identical to the one that showed up on November 17, the morning that CEO Sam Altman was suddenly and shockingly fired.
- Altman and Brockman are no longer on the board; Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, who voted to fire Altman, remains as well, and will help to fill out the rest of its membership.
- The new board will commission an independent investigation into the events surrounding Altman’s firing.
- OpenAI had been seeking new board members ever since three people stepped down from it earlier this year; one person the board had talked to was Taylor, a highly regarded entrepreneur and board operator who also served a stint as co-CEO of Salesforce.