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Many points of interest here, including the answer to an earlier HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38384090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?

by gwern 3y ago

Many points of interest here, including the answer to an earlier HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38384090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38384090 Why were the YC posts about Altman stepping down as YC president & becoming chairman so confusingly edited, and Altman seems to have either never been chairman or have quickly left? Well, because his post lacked candor about him becoming YC chairman: "To smooth his exit, Altman proposed he move from president to chairman. He pre-emptively published a blog post on the firm’s website announcing the change. But the firm’s partnership had never agreed, and the announcement was later scrubbed from the post."

anotherhue 3y ago
Gun jumping seems to be his style.
- vorticalbox 3y ago
  Not that I agree with this method but it's a pretty effective way to force something.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - kdwikzncba 3y ago
    No, it's an attempt to force, and has the same flaw as all attempts to force, which is: the other side might just call your bluff. "Oh you think that going ahead before a decision is made and just publish a post will get us to decide in your favor because we're afraid of looking like we're backtracking? How about we don't decide in your favor and delete your post? What you gonna do now?"
    - BeefDinnerPurge 3y ago
      [flagged]
    - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
      > How about we don't decide in your favor and delete your post? This response, the one YC went with, is milquetoast. It’s rational. But the true fuck you is to counter-programme and publicly call out the lie.
      - kdwikzncba 3y ago
        [flagged]
hutzlibu 3y ago
Also this other bit was news to me: "Graham said it was his wife’s doing. “If anyone ‘fired’ Sam, it was Jessica, not me,” he said. “But it would be wrong to use the word ‘fired’ because he agreed immediately.” "
- bmitc 3y ago
  Why are these people so sycophantic, especially to such an inexperienced person?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - hutzlibu 3y ago
    "“I saw in a 19-year-old Sam Altman the same thing that I see now: an intensely focused and brilliant person whom I was willing to bet big on,” said Chung, now managing general partner of Xfund, a venture-capital firm." They believe in his focus to get things done, not in his ethics. And with ChatGPT, he got things done. Which means, he connected the right people and raised money so they can work on the important things.
    - bmitc 3y ago
      > said Chung, now managing general partner of Xfund, a venture-capital firm. Emphasis mine. I mean, that's just backs up my original question. These people will say anything to garner favor, perceived or otherwise. I've seen Altman speak. At what point should I expect to see a representative example of this focus and insight?
      - sebzim4500 3y ago
        > At what point should I expect to see a representative example of this focus and insight? Probably never. He says nothing of substance in public.
      - amazingman 3y ago
natdempk 3y ago
> In early October, OpenAI’s chief scientist approached some fellow board members to recommend Altman be fired, citing roughly 20 examples of when he believed Altman misled OpenAI executives over the years. I also thought this was interesting, not sure if this detail had been reported before this article, but seems like there were maybe more incidents than initially thought.
- gwern 3y ago
  There had been two incidents reported: Sutskever seeing in Slack from other OA execs that the attempt to fire Toner was not over the paper but over her EA ties, and McCauley (apparently) being told by Altman that another board member wanted to fire Toner over the paper. This list of 20 examples is new, albeit unsurprising given that there was no reason to think that there were only 2 incidents, and I highlight it in my longer commentary: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KXHMCH7wCxrvKsJyn/openai-facts-from-a-weekend?commentId=p3D5ZiM6z9GbCdPnv#p3D5ZiM6z9GbCdPnv https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KXHMCH7wCxrvKsJyn/openai-fac...