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1) Where is Emmett? He's the CEO now. It's his job to be the public face of the company. The company is in an existential crisis and there have been no publ

1) Where is Emmett? He's the CEO now. It's his job to be the public face of the company. The company is in an existential crisis and there have been no public statements after his 1AM tweet. 2) Where is the board? At a bare minimum, issue a public statement that you have full faith in the new CEO and the leadership team, are taking decisive action to stabilize the situation, and have a plan to move the company forward once stabilized.

dmix 3y ago
Technically he's the interim CEO in a chaotic company just assigned in the last 24hrs. I'd probably wait to get my bearings before walking in acting like I've got everything under control on the first day after a major upheaval. The only thing I've read about Shear is he is pro-slowing AI development and pro-Yudkowsky's doomer worldview on AI. That might not be a pill the company is ready to swallow. https://x.com/drtechlash/status/1726507930026139651 https://x.com/drtechlash/status/1726507930026139651 > I specifically say I’m in favor of slowing down, which is sort of like pausing except it’s slowing down. > If we’re at a speed of 10 right now, a pause is reducing to 0. I think we should aim for a 1-2 instead. > - Emmett Shear Sept 16, 2023 https://x.com/eshear/status/1703178063306203397 https://x.com/eshear/status/1703178063306203397
- creer 3y ago
  Another "thing" is, he has been named by a board which... [etc]. Being a bit cautious would be a minimum.
- concordDance 3y ago
  Everyone involved here is a doomer by the strict definition ("misaligned agi could kill us all and alignment is hard") .
- motoxpro 3y ago
  The more I read into this story the more I can't help but to be a conspiracy theorist and say that it feels like the boards intent was to kill the company. No explanation beyond "he tried to give two people the same project the "Killing the company would be consistent with the companies mission" line in the boards statement Adam having a huge conflict of interest Emmet wanting to go from a "10" to a "1-2" I'm either way off, or I've had too much internet for the weekend.
  - m_mueller 3y ago
    Could it be that their research found more 'glimpses' of a dangerous AGI?
    - ethanbond 3y ago
      IMO this is increasingly the most likely answer, which would readily comport with "lack of candor" as well as the (allegedly) provided 2 explanations being so weak [1]: you certainly wouldn't want to come out and say that you fired the CEO because you think you might have (apparently) dangerous AI/AGI/ASI and your CEO was reckless with it. Neither of the two explanations seem even to be within the realm of a fireable offense. It would also comport with Ilya's regret about the situation: perhaps he wanted to slow things down, board members convinced him Sam's ouster was the way to do it, but then it has actually unfolded such that development of dangerous AI/AGI/ASI might accelerate at Microsoft while weakening OpenAI's own ability to modulate the pace of development. [1]: Given all the very public media brinkmanship, I'm not so quick to assume reports like these two explanations are true. E.g. the "Sama is returning with demands!" stories were obviously "planted" by people who were trying to exert pressure on the negotiations; would be interested to have more evidence that Ilya's explanations were actually this sloppy.
PheonixPharts 3y ago
Yes these people should all be doing more to feed internet drama! If they don't act soon, HN will have all sorts of wild opinions about what's going on and we can't have that! Even worse, if we don't have near constant updates, we might realize this is not all that important in the end and move on to other news items! I know, I know, I shouldn't jest when this could have grave consequences like changing which uri your api endpoint is pointing to.
- minimaxir 3y ago
  No serious company wants drama. Hopefully OpenAI is still a serious company. A statement from the CEO/the board is a standard descalation.
  - 6gvONxR4sf7o 3y ago
    > A statement from the CEO/the board is a standard descalation. Haven't we gotten statements from them? The complaint seems to be that we want statements from them every day (or more) now.
    - minimaxir 3y ago
      Emmett made a tweet noting accepting the role, which is not a statement. The board has not given a statement besides the original firing of Sam Altman that kicked the whole thing off.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > No serious company wants drama "All PR is good PR" is a meme for a reason. Many cultures thrive on dysfunction, particularly the kind that calls attention to themselves.
    - minimaxir 3y ago
      That axiom is a relic from the pre-social media days. Nowadays, bad PR going viral can sink a company overnight.
markdown 3y ago
Why should he care about updating internet randoms? It's none of our business. The people who need to know what's going, know what's going on.
c_s_guy 3y ago
If Emmett will run this the same way he ran Twitch, I'm not expecting much action from him.
highwayman47 3y ago
Half the board lacks any technical skill, and the entire board lacks any business procedural skill. Ideally, you’d have a balance of each on a component board.
- eshack94 3y ago
  Ideally, you also have at least a couple independent board members who are seasoned business/tech veterans with the experience and maturity to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the first place.
arduanika 3y ago
Here he is! Blathering about AI doom 4 months ago, spitting Yudkowsky talking points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2xw_1_KHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2xw_1_KHY
starshadowx2 3y ago
People kept asking where he was during his years of being Twitch CEO, it's not unlike him to be MIA now either.
pushedx 3y ago
He has said more than he said during his entire 5 years at Twitch
spullara 3y ago
He is trying to determine if they have already made an Alien God.
upupupandaway 3y ago
I find it absolutely fascinating that Emmett accepted this position. He can game all scenarios and there is no way that he can come out ahead on any of them. One would expect an experienced Silicon Valley CEO to make this calculus and realize it's a lost cause. The fact he accepted to me shows he's not a particularly good leader.
- tw1984 3y ago
  He made it pretty clear that he consider it as a once in a life time chance. I think he is correct, being the CEO twitch is a position known by no one in many places, e.g. how many developers/users in China even heard of Twitch? Being the CEO of OpenAI is a completely different story, it is a whole new level he can leverage in the years to come.
  - khazhoux 3y ago
    > he consider it as a once in a life time chance. Like taking a sword to the gut.
  - ps256 3y ago
    It seems kind of naive to think that he'll be CEO for long, or if it is for long, that there will be much company left to be a CEO of.
    - tw1984 3y ago
      why he needs to be CEO for long? If everything goes well, he can claim that he is the man behind all these to reunite the OpenAI team. If something goes wrong, well, no one is going to blame him, the board screwed the entire business. He is more like a emergency room doctor who failed to save a poor dude who just intentionally shot himself in the head with a shotgun.
      - ps256 3y ago
        > If everything goes well, he can claim that he is the man behind all these to reunite the OpenAI team. It's now one day later and Altman is back as CEO - what can Emmett Shear claim exactly?
eastern 3y ago
That's what a board of a for-profit company which has a fiduciary duty towards shareholders should do. However, the OpenAI board has no such obligation. Their duty is to ensure that the human race stays safe from AI. They've done their best to do that ;-)
agitator 3y ago
As much as I'd love to hear about the details of the drama as the next person, they really don't have to say anything publicly. We are all going to continue using the product. They don't have public investors. The only concern about perception they may have is if they intend to raise more money anytime soon.

dmix 3y ago

Technically he's the interim CEO in a chaotic company just assigned in the last 24hrs. I'd probably wait to get my bearings before walking in acting like I've got everything under control on the first day after a major upheaval. The only thing I've read about Shear is he is pro-slowing AI development and pro-Yudkowsky's doomer worldview on AI. That might not be a pill the company is ready to swallow. https://x.com/drtechlash/status/1726507930026139651 https://x.com/drtechlash/status/1726507930026139651 > I specifically say I’m in favor of slowing down, which is sort of like pausing except it’s slowing down. > If we’re at a speed of 10 right now, a pause is reducing to 0. I think we should aim for a 1-2 instead. > - Emmett Shear Sept 16, 2023 https://x.com/eshear/status/1703178063306203397 https://x.com/eshear/status/1703178063306203397

creer 3y ago
Another "thing" is, he has been named by a board which... [etc]. Being a bit cautious would be a minimum.
concordDance 3y ago
Everyone involved here is a doomer by the strict definition ("misaligned agi could kill us all and alignment is hard") .
motoxpro 3y ago
The more I read into this story the more I can't help but to be a conspiracy theorist and say that it feels like the boards intent was to kill the company. No explanation beyond "he tried to give two people the same project the "Killing the company would be consistent with the companies mission" line in the boards statement Adam having a huge conflict of interest Emmet wanting to go from a "10" to a "1-2" I'm either way off, or I've had too much internet for the weekend.
- m_mueller 3y ago
  Could it be that their research found more 'glimpses' of a dangerous AGI?
  - ethanbond 3y ago
    IMO this is increasingly the most likely answer, which would readily comport with "lack of candor" as well as the (allegedly) provided 2 explanations being so weak [1]: you certainly wouldn't want to come out and say that you fired the CEO because you think you might have (apparently) dangerous AI/AGI/ASI and your CEO was reckless with it. Neither of the two explanations seem even to be within the realm of a fireable offense. It would also comport with Ilya's regret about the situation: perhaps he wanted to slow things down, board members convinced him Sam's ouster was the way to do it, but then it has actually unfolded such that development of dangerous AI/AGI/ASI might accelerate at Microsoft while weakening OpenAI's own ability to modulate the pace of development. [1]: Given all the very public media brinkmanship, I'm not so quick to assume reports like these two explanations are true. E.g. the "Sama is returning with demands!" stories were obviously "planted" by people who were trying to exert pressure on the negotiations; would be interested to have more evidence that Ilya's explanations were actually this sloppy.

PheonixPharts 3y ago

Yes these people should all be doing more to feed internet drama! If they don't act soon, HN will have all sorts of wild opinions about what's going on and we can't have that! Even worse, if we don't have near constant updates, we might realize this is not all that important in the end and move on to other news items! I know, I know, I shouldn't jest when this could have grave consequences like changing which uri your api endpoint is pointing to.

minimaxir 3y ago
No serious company wants drama. Hopefully OpenAI is still a serious company. A statement from the CEO/the board is a standard descalation.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 3y ago
  > A statement from the CEO/the board is a standard descalation. Haven't we gotten statements from them? The complaint seems to be that we want statements from them every day (or more) now.
  - minimaxir 3y ago
    Emmett made a tweet noting accepting the role, which is not a statement. The board has not given a statement besides the original firing of Sam Altman that kicked the whole thing off.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > No serious company wants drama "All PR is good PR" is a meme for a reason. Many cultures thrive on dysfunction, particularly the kind that calls attention to themselves.
  - minimaxir 3y ago
    That axiom is a relic from the pre-social media days. Nowadays, bad PR going viral can sink a company overnight.

markdown 3y ago

Why should he care about updating internet randoms? It's none of our business. The people who need to know what's going, know what's going on.

c_s_guy 3y ago

If Emmett will run this the same way he ran Twitch, I'm not expecting much action from him.

highwayman47 3y ago

Half the board lacks any technical skill, and the entire board lacks any business procedural skill. Ideally, you’d have a balance of each on a component board.

eshack94 3y ago
Ideally, you also have at least a couple independent board members who are seasoned business/tech veterans with the experience and maturity to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the first place.

arduanika 3y ago

Here he is! Blathering about AI doom 4 months ago, spitting Yudkowsky talking points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2xw_1_KHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2xw_1_KHY

starshadowx2 3y ago

People kept asking where he was during his years of being Twitch CEO, it's not unlike him to be MIA now either.

pushedx 3y ago

He has said more than he said during his entire 5 years at Twitch

spullara 3y ago

He is trying to determine if they have already made an Alien God.

upupupandaway 3y ago

I find it absolutely fascinating that Emmett accepted this position. He can game all scenarios and there is no way that he can come out ahead on any of them. One would expect an experienced Silicon Valley CEO to make this calculus and realize it's a lost cause. The fact he accepted to me shows he's not a particularly good leader.

tw1984 3y ago
He made it pretty clear that he consider it as a once in a life time chance. I think he is correct, being the CEO twitch is a position known by no one in many places, e.g. how many developers/users in China even heard of Twitch? Being the CEO of OpenAI is a completely different story, it is a whole new level he can leverage in the years to come.
- khazhoux 3y ago
  > he consider it as a once in a life time chance. Like taking a sword to the gut.
- ps256 3y ago
  It seems kind of naive to think that he'll be CEO for long, or if it is for long, that there will be much company left to be a CEO of.
  - tw1984 3y ago
    why he needs to be CEO for long? If everything goes well, he can claim that he is the man behind all these to reunite the OpenAI team. If something goes wrong, well, no one is going to blame him, the board screwed the entire business. He is more like a emergency room doctor who failed to save a poor dude who just intentionally shot himself in the head with a shotgun.
    - ps256 3y ago
      > If everything goes well, he can claim that he is the man behind all these to reunite the OpenAI team. It's now one day later and Altman is back as CEO - what can Emmett Shear claim exactly?

eastern 3y ago

That's what a board of a for-profit company which has a fiduciary duty towards shareholders should do. However, the OpenAI board has no such obligation. Their duty is to ensure that the human race stays safe from AI. They've done their best to do that ;-)

agitator 3y ago

As much as I'd love to hear about the details of the drama as the next person, they really don't have to say anything publicly. We are all going to continue using the product. They don't have public investors. The only concern about perception they may have is if they intend to raise more money anytime soon.