6 ms·

But how would that benefit OpenAI? It would be a "fuck you" move that faintly inconveniences Microsoft and destroys OpenAI.

by ot 3y ago

airstrike 3y ago
> and destroys OpenAI You mean destroy the rubble that's currently left in the offices of the company formerly known as OpenAI? If 500-750 key employees have departed to a competitor, what's left to protect? Yeah, it would 80% be a "fuck you" move, but the other 20% would represent a pivot to an "open source" model like the name once implied
- bdowling 3y ago
  > the other 20% would represent a pivot to an "open source" model like the name once implied Or they would be triggering a billion-dollar lawsuit that would surely bankrupt the company.
  - klohto 3y ago
    On what grounds exactly? They are still the owners
    - bdowling 3y ago
      I don't have any insider knowledge that the linked post is true, but it seems plausible. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38349969 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38349969 Even if there isn't anything explicit, there may be an implicit promise that a strategic partner won't share all the company secrets with the partner's competitors.
  - TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
    Not seeing they have anything to lose at this point.
- vigilantpuma 3y ago
  Have 500-750 key employees departed? Or even threatened to depart? OpenAI has (well, had) 770 employees, you think Microsoft will lure away 70-97% of them?
  - airstrike 3y ago
    It's literally the top article on the front page right now https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38347868 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38347868 See also https://twitter.com/karaswisher/status/1726598360277356775 https://twitter.com/karaswisher/status/1726598360277356775 which was merged into that discussion above
    - vigilantpuma 3y ago
      Signing a petition is not the same as quitting, but that is something (and I hadn't seen it).
ItsMonkk 3y ago
Presumably they still have billions of dollars of pledged compute remaining from Microsoft, opening up and letting open source contributors move the project forward is the best path forward. And doing this is the first step on that path.
- thelittleone 3y ago
  Wouldn't Microsoft just cancel the credits (or bloxk usage) and let it go to the courts? Would take a long legal battle even if OpenAI did ultimately win it would probably be too late to matter.
  - ItsMonkk 3y ago
    That's even worse. Breaching the contract would presumably mean they would lose access to the GPT4 IP. That would set Microsoft back months in the race. Unthinkable.
    - thelittleone 3y ago
      If they already have the IP, what access do they have to lose?
      - ItsMonkk 3y ago
        They don't own the IP. They are licensed the IP by OpenAI.
autoexec 3y ago
It would benefit OpenAI by suddenly actually being an open source project that everyone can contribute to and improve on. It'd be a win for OpenAI the project even if it means that individuals at OpenAI would lose potential personal wealth and power.

But how would that benefit OpenAI? It would be a "fuck you" move that faintly inconveniences Microsoft and destroys OpenAI.

by ot 3y ago

But how would that benefit OpenAI? It would be a "fuck you" move that faintly inconveniences Microsoft and destroys OpenAI.

airstrike 3y ago

> and destroys OpenAI You mean destroy the rubble that's currently left in the offices of the company formerly known as OpenAI? If 500-750 key employees have departed to a competitor, what's left to protect? Yeah, it would 80% be a "fuck you" move, but the other 20% would represent a pivot to an "open source" model like the name once implied

bdowling 3y ago
> the other 20% would represent a pivot to an "open source" model like the name once implied Or they would be triggering a billion-dollar lawsuit that would surely bankrupt the company.
- klohto 3y ago
  On what grounds exactly? They are still the owners
  - bdowling 3y ago
    I don't have any insider knowledge that the linked post is true, but it seems plausible. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38349969 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38349969 Even if there isn't anything explicit, there may be an implicit promise that a strategic partner won't share all the company secrets with the partner's competitors.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  Not seeing they have anything to lose at this point.
vigilantpuma 3y ago
Have 500-750 key employees departed? Or even threatened to depart? OpenAI has (well, had) 770 employees, you think Microsoft will lure away 70-97% of them?
- airstrike 3y ago
  It's literally the top article on the front page right now https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38347868 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38347868 See also https://twitter.com/karaswisher/status/1726598360277356775 https://twitter.com/karaswisher/status/1726598360277356775 which was merged into that discussion above
  - vigilantpuma 3y ago
    Signing a petition is not the same as quitting, but that is something (and I hadn't seen it).

ItsMonkk 3y ago

Presumably they still have billions of dollars of pledged compute remaining from Microsoft, opening up and letting open source contributors move the project forward is the best path forward. And doing this is the first step on that path.

thelittleone 3y ago
Wouldn't Microsoft just cancel the credits (or bloxk usage) and let it go to the courts? Would take a long legal battle even if OpenAI did ultimately win it would probably be too late to matter.
- ItsMonkk 3y ago
  That's even worse. Breaching the contract would presumably mean they would lose access to the GPT4 IP. That would set Microsoft back months in the race. Unthinkable.
  - thelittleone 3y ago
    If they already have the IP, what access do they have to lose?
    - ItsMonkk 3y ago
      They don't own the IP. They are licensed the IP by OpenAI.

autoexec 3y ago

It would benefit OpenAI by suddenly actually being an open source project that everyone can contribute to and improve on. It'd be a win for OpenAI the project even if it means that individuals at OpenAI would lose potential personal wealth and power.