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Maybe. Or maybe they can profit differently going forward. Sam is not the reason OpenAI is gangbusters, its tech is. What I’m not hearing in any of this reporti

Maybe. Or maybe they can profit differently going forward. Sam is not the reason OpenAI is gangbusters, its tech is. What I’m not hearing in any of this reporting is how Sam Altman is somehow the secret sauce. And it’s because he isn’t. This is “rules for thee but not for me”. He as a bad fit, 2/3 the board outed him, and investors are mad because they didn’t feel included. You know, like how they include employees in layoff decisions and not blind side them. Sam Altman has spoken about “firing fast” when someone is a bad fit. he got fired fast, because he was a bad fit. That’s the seminal conclusion

ilaksh 3y ago
I agree that it's the tech and Altman isn't the secret sauce, but if Sutskever shuts down further product offerings, then the investors lose billions. So I was just saying that from the investor's perspective, the concept was flawed or at least very questionable from the beginning.
refulgentis 3y ago
100%. Hear hear. It's very visible who knew about OpenAI before ChatGPT currently. It's somewhat frustrating to find 99.9999% of people had the standard genius-warrior-hero-CEO narrative locked in. I don't think even Sam in his most private of moments would come close to endorsing some of the hyperbole I've seen the past day.
insanitybit 3y ago
> And it’s because he isn’t. This is “rules for thee but not for me”. He as a bad fit, 2/3 the board outed him, and investors are mad because they didn’t feel included. The fact that they're openly considering bringing him back should tell you that he's not just some random person whose job anyone can do. He's extremely well connected and was the face of the company - the face of deals that the company made. And you have to consider whether internally the employees are supporting this - if I were at OpenAI I would be pissed that the board decided to fuck around when we were doing so well.
- refulgentis 3y ago
  If I were at OpenAI I'd be pissed strangers concern-trolled for me, all while my position was obvious given the company I joined: Open AI.
  - insanitybit 3y ago
    Easy to say, but when you looked at your option prices I bet you'd be second guessing that. edit: You have edited your post radically to say different hings like 5x now, I can not keep up.
    - refulgentis 3y ago
      All the more reason to nip it in the bud. The explicit main goal was _not_ to be a gravy train, and it got co-opted for one.
      - insanitybit 3y ago
        I'm sure that tanking your company to avoid profit will be a great winning strategy, I look forward to your startup journey.
        refulgentis 3y ago
        Strawman
        insanitybit 3y ago
        You: "The goal of the company is to not make money" Me: "Good luck with that terrible strategy" Not a straw man.
        anoncareer0212 3y ago
        Yeah, you can tell by the fact you had to make up the quote wholesale, not even word swaps or anything clever
newZWhoDis 3y ago
> 2/3 the board outed him I’ve seen more compelling boards at Home Depot
baobabKoodaa 3y ago
That's not what "fire fast" means. Altman lead the company for years; he was not fired fast.
- no_wizard 3y ago
  It means, if taken at an axiom, that when someone ain’t working out you should fire them fast rather than let them drag down the rest of the group Tenure doesn’t matter.
  - baobabKoodaa 3y ago
    You're saying he was working out great all these years until suddenly he was not working out anymore and was fired fast?
    - no_wizard 3y ago
      It sounds like that’s the case, given what happened.
hyperthesis 3y ago
He's extraordinarily talented by all accounts, especially at fundraising. But his Apple was Loopt. He's not the secret sauce but a facilitator - more Tim than Steve. Perhaps like Steve was to Pixar. "The start-up company must either cross or die, but what value is life if to gain it one has to go against one’s best self?" - Moore, Crossing the Chasm, p. 75
- joeguilmette 3y ago
  his arc doesnt line up with Jobs. Loopt was how he got his foot into the door at YC as a founder. at YC he made a name for himself, built the rolodex, and learned how to build startups to the point that he turned OpenAI into a rocketship and now has unlimited access to capital and talent to build another one.
  - hyperthesis 3y ago
    If money and talent is all you need, he's gonna win. But I think this doesn't work for research talent, it's more for commercialization. Think PARC vs ethernet/adobe etc. IDK if AI is really at that stage yet. Let's see how this pans out.

ilaksh 3y ago

I agree that it's the tech and Altman isn't the secret sauce, but if Sutskever shuts down further product offerings, then the investors lose billions. So I was just saying that from the investor's perspective, the concept was flawed or at least very questionable from the beginning.

refulgentis 3y ago

100%. Hear hear. It's very visible who knew about OpenAI before ChatGPT currently. It's somewhat frustrating to find 99.9999% of people had the standard genius-warrior-hero-CEO narrative locked in. I don't think even Sam in his most private of moments would come close to endorsing some of the hyperbole I've seen the past day.

insanitybit 3y ago

> And it’s because he isn’t. This is “rules for thee but not for me”. He as a bad fit, 2/3 the board outed him, and investors are mad because they didn’t feel included. The fact that they're openly considering bringing him back should tell you that he's not just some random person whose job anyone can do. He's extremely well connected and was the face of the company - the face of deals that the company made. And you have to consider whether internally the employees are supporting this - if I were at OpenAI I would be pissed that the board decided to fuck around when we were doing so well.

refulgentis 3y ago
If I were at OpenAI I'd be pissed strangers concern-trolled for me, all while my position was obvious given the company I joined: Open AI.
- insanitybit 3y ago
  Easy to say, but when you looked at your option prices I bet you'd be second guessing that. edit: You have edited your post radically to say different hings like 5x now, I can not keep up.
  - refulgentis 3y ago
    All the more reason to nip it in the bud. The explicit main goal was _not_ to be a gravy train, and it got co-opted for one.
    - insanitybit 3y ago
      I'm sure that tanking your company to avoid profit will be a great winning strategy, I look forward to your startup journey.
      - refulgentis 3y ago
        Strawman
        insanitybit 3y ago
        You: "The goal of the company is to not make money" Me: "Good luck with that terrible strategy" Not a straw man.
        anoncareer0212 3y ago
        Yeah, you can tell by the fact you had to make up the quote wholesale, not even word swaps or anything clever

newZWhoDis 3y ago

> 2/3 the board outed him I’ve seen more compelling boards at Home Depot

baobabKoodaa 3y ago

That's not what "fire fast" means. Altman lead the company for years; he was not fired fast.

no_wizard 3y ago
It means, if taken at an axiom, that when someone ain’t working out you should fire them fast rather than let them drag down the rest of the group Tenure doesn’t matter.
- baobabKoodaa 3y ago
  You're saying he was working out great all these years until suddenly he was not working out anymore and was fired fast?
  - no_wizard 3y ago
    It sounds like that’s the case, given what happened.

hyperthesis 3y ago

He's extraordinarily talented by all accounts, especially at fundraising. But his Apple was Loopt. He's not the secret sauce but a facilitator - more Tim than Steve. Perhaps like Steve was to Pixar. "The start-up company must either cross or die, but what value is life if to gain it one has to go against one’s best self?" - Moore, Crossing the Chasm, p. 75

joeguilmette 3y ago
his arc doesnt line up with Jobs. Loopt was how he got his foot into the door at YC as a founder. at YC he made a name for himself, built the rolodex, and learned how to build startups to the point that he turned OpenAI into a rocketship and now has unlimited access to capital and talent to build another one.
- hyperthesis 3y ago
  If money and talent is all you need, he's gonna win. But I think this doesn't work for research talent, it's more for commercialization. Think PARC vs ethernet/adobe etc. IDK if AI is really at that stage yet. Let's see how this pans out.