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What Sam Altman Did That Was So Bad He Got Fired from OpenAI

47 points by jacooper 3y ago

Alifatisk 3y ago
So he was manipulative towards his colleagues and aggressive in the way he pushed their ai to the public with little consideration for its consequences?
ChatGTP 3y ago
The more I read about this, the more it seems like the most "boring" and predictable reason for this to happen. He is a toxic psychopath working in an (apparent) not for profit. The guy says one thing and does another, who'd a thunk it ? Sound exactly like the worst person to be in possession of some "powerful" technology. I know a lot of people won't care because "he ships", but ultimately, this shit sucks and if true is really sad he got to keep his job. People like this are really toxic and destructive.
- TeckPerspecc 3y ago
  All of this is par for the course in the world of American tech non profits. At least employees are paid well and they ship.
lesuorac 3y ago
> But new reporting *suggests* ... > The fact Altman was so quickly reinstated as CEO suggests that none of these allegations were enough for the company's powerful backers I dunno, I still think this whole thing just shows that if you do a big decision and month later people don't understand in black-and-white why then people might not be on your side.
deemster 3y ago
I'm not sure but it's about to get a lot worse with a crook like Larry Summers on the board.
- AlchemistCamp 3y ago
  What crime has he done, exactly?
  - deemster 3y ago
    His most famous controversy is this quote from a leaked memo when he worked at the World Bank. 'the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that' Also you could consider his polices being a key factor in the financial crisis of 07-08. Maybe crook wasn't the right word but he's certainly an unsavory character. I'm sure I could find more examples.
    - inemesitaffia 3y ago
      If he's unsavory, claim unsavory.
    - milesvp 3y ago
      Forgive me, but that quote sounds like something any economist would say. Is there more to it than that? was he pushing to dump toxic waste? or was he pushing to align insentives so dumping isn’t a dominant strategy? I’m having a hard time imagining why the topic would come up in a bank.
      - deemster 3y ago
        You can read the whole memo here, it's not long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo Certainly comes off to me as a policy recommendation to dump waste in developing countries but I guess that's in the eye of the beholder.
        milesvp 3y ago
        Oh, ugly. Reads like some Milton Friedman BS. Hard to say if it was actually sarcastic, because by the time I was in undergrad these were sort of standard arguments used to challenge common thinking. Sarcasm can be very difficult, since it pushes ideas that less sophisticated thinkers can glom onto. Like much of what Friedman spouted was considered batshit insane at the time, and is now touted as ideals to work towards (yay tickle down! no, trust us, you’ll be a millionaire soon!). And to be clear, I consider a big percentage of our current economic problems can be attributed to his lazy thinking.
loceng 3y ago
This doesn't seem to be pulling from anything concrete and is speculation.
- shkkmo 3y ago
  What are you talking about? The article is a mixture of established fact and separately reported hearsay. However your dismissal doesn't attempt to parse any of that and is instead a low value drive-by comment.
  - loceng 3y ago
    I'd argue the article is a low value drive-by click-bait post - and worse than that, in fact may be malicious in nature to obscure and confuse the truth - or it's just doing so as a form of harmful gossip. If you actually care then perhaps I'll walk through with you, and we first can parse and list out what is "established fact" that they mention (and how established it actually is) vs. hearsay (which has practically no value).
klik99 3y ago
This is one of the few times that the most prominent rumors going around while it was all happening are all correct. Makes me a little skeptical this is the full story, since it sounds so close to word on the street, but it does all make sense
Timber-6539 3y ago
Whatever transgressions Sam allegedly made that led to his firing don't matter, now that he was re-hired promptly by OpenAI. The only take away here is that the previous board was clearly unfit to make any major decisions concerning the company.
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  No, so far the take away is that they weren't sufficiently powerful to follow through on the decision. Not that they were wrong to attempt to. To determine that it is exactly his transgressions that matter.
  - Timber-6539 3y ago
    > so far the take away is that they weren't sufficiently powerful to follow through on the decision. > previous board was clearly unfit to make any major decisions concerning the company. We are saying the same thing.
    - cthalupa 3y ago
      These are not the same thing. There is no guarantee in life that the people that are "right" will have the power to do the right thing, no matter how skilled they are.
- shkkmo 3y ago
  It wasn't that prompt...it took significant pressure from Microsoft and a well coordinated media campaign. I don't see how this makes any past behavior irrelevant. It provides important information to people who are asked to sit on a board with him or who are considering working at a company he runs.
  - Timber-6539 3y ago
    > It wasn't that prompt He was back at OpenAI in less than a week from his firing. > I don't see how this makes any past behavior irrelevant. You don't have to see anything. The conclusion from all the smoke and mirrors that emerged is that Altman was hired back at OpenAI. Rendering the previous board's decision null.
TheRealDunkirk 3y ago
https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelthisclothingcos/video/7306726840612195627 https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelthisclothingcos/video/73067268... TL;DW: Blackrock now has a seat at the table.
- incahoots 3y ago
  oh good, the moral fiber of society is at the table. /s edit: video brings up some valid concerns, the reality is nothing will be done to stop Summers from manipulating the board to his favor, that's the real damning part here.
  - egberts1 3y ago
    Yes
- parineum 3y ago
  You got a link that isn't tiktok?

47 points by jacooper 3y ago

So he was manipulative towards his colleagues and aggressive in the way he pushed their ai to the public with little consideration for its consequences?

ChatGTP 3y ago

The more I read about this, the more it seems like the most "boring" and predictable reason for this to happen. He is a toxic psychopath working in an (apparent) not for profit. The guy says one thing and does another, who'd a thunk it ? Sound exactly like the worst person to be in possession of some "powerful" technology. I know a lot of people won't care because "he ships", but ultimately, this shit sucks and if true is really sad he got to keep his job. People like this are really toxic and destructive.

TeckPerspecc 3y ago
All of this is par for the course in the world of American tech non profits. At least employees are paid well and they ship.

lesuorac 3y ago

> But new reporting *suggests* ... > The fact Altman was so quickly reinstated as CEO suggests that none of these allegations were enough for the company's powerful backers I dunno, I still think this whole thing just shows that if you do a big decision and month later people don't understand in black-and-white why then people might not be on your side.

deemster 3y ago

I'm not sure but it's about to get a lot worse with a crook like Larry Summers on the board.

AlchemistCamp 3y ago
What crime has he done, exactly?
- deemster 3y ago
  His most famous controversy is this quote from a leaked memo when he worked at the World Bank. 'the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that' Also you could consider his polices being a key factor in the financial crisis of 07-08. Maybe crook wasn't the right word but he's certainly an unsavory character. I'm sure I could find more examples.
  - inemesitaffia 3y ago
    If he's unsavory, claim unsavory.
  - milesvp 3y ago
    Forgive me, but that quote sounds like something any economist would say. Is there more to it than that? was he pushing to dump toxic waste? or was he pushing to align insentives so dumping isn’t a dominant strategy? I’m having a hard time imagining why the topic would come up in a bank.
    - deemster 3y ago
      You can read the whole memo here, it's not long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_memo Certainly comes off to me as a policy recommendation to dump waste in developing countries but I guess that's in the eye of the beholder.
      - milesvp 3y ago
        Oh, ugly. Reads like some Milton Friedman BS. Hard to say if it was actually sarcastic, because by the time I was in undergrad these were sort of standard arguments used to challenge common thinking. Sarcasm can be very difficult, since it pushes ideas that less sophisticated thinkers can glom onto. Like much of what Friedman spouted was considered batshit insane at the time, and is now touted as ideals to work towards (yay tickle down! no, trust us, you’ll be a millionaire soon!). And to be clear, I consider a big percentage of our current economic problems can be attributed to his lazy thinking.

loceng 3y ago

This doesn't seem to be pulling from anything concrete and is speculation.

shkkmo 3y ago
What are you talking about? The article is a mixture of established fact and separately reported hearsay. However your dismissal doesn't attempt to parse any of that and is instead a low value drive-by comment.
- loceng 3y ago
  I'd argue the article is a low value drive-by click-bait post - and worse than that, in fact may be malicious in nature to obscure and confuse the truth - or it's just doing so as a form of harmful gossip. If you actually care then perhaps I'll walk through with you, and we first can parse and list out what is "established fact" that they mention (and how established it actually is) vs. hearsay (which has practically no value).

klik99 3y ago

This is one of the few times that the most prominent rumors going around while it was all happening are all correct. Makes me a little skeptical this is the full story, since it sounds so close to word on the street, but it does all make sense

Timber-6539 3y ago

Whatever transgressions Sam allegedly made that led to his firing don't matter, now that he was re-hired promptly by OpenAI. The only take away here is that the previous board was clearly unfit to make any major decisions concerning the company.

giraffe_lady 3y ago
No, so far the take away is that they weren't sufficiently powerful to follow through on the decision. Not that they were wrong to attempt to. To determine that it is exactly his transgressions that matter.
- Timber-6539 3y ago
  > so far the take away is that they weren't sufficiently powerful to follow through on the decision. > previous board was clearly unfit to make any major decisions concerning the company. We are saying the same thing.
  - cthalupa 3y ago
    These are not the same thing. There is no guarantee in life that the people that are "right" will have the power to do the right thing, no matter how skilled they are.
shkkmo 3y ago
It wasn't that prompt...it took significant pressure from Microsoft and a well coordinated media campaign. I don't see how this makes any past behavior irrelevant. It provides important information to people who are asked to sit on a board with him or who are considering working at a company he runs.
- Timber-6539 3y ago
  > It wasn't that prompt He was back at OpenAI in less than a week from his firing. > I don't see how this makes any past behavior irrelevant. You don't have to see anything. The conclusion from all the smoke and mirrors that emerged is that Altman was hired back at OpenAI. Rendering the previous board's decision null.

TheRealDunkirk 3y ago

https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelthisclothingcos/video/7306726840612195627 https://www.tiktok.com/@cancelthisclothingcos/video/73067268... TL;DW: Blackrock now has a seat at the table.

incahoots 3y ago
oh good, the moral fiber of society is at the table. /s edit: video brings up some valid concerns, the reality is nothing will be done to stop Summers from manipulating the board to his favor, that's the real damning part here.
- egberts1 3y ago
  Yes
parineum 3y ago
You got a link that isn't tiktok?