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Sam Altman is a pathological liar https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/29/ex_openai_board_member_accuses_altman_lying/ https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/29/ex

by jpm_sd 2y ago

Sam Altman is a pathological liar https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/29/ex_openai_board_member_accuses_altman_lying/ https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/29/ex_openai_board_membe... https://www.wheresyoured.at/sam-altman-is-full-of-shit/ https://www.wheresyoured.at/sam-altman-is-full-of-shit/

ninininino 2y ago
This is startup land. We call it a Painted Door test of the truth. He's just selling product roadmap before things are feature complete, we all do it.
- mtnGoat 2y ago
  Please don’t say all… I for one have never done this.
  - ninininino 2y ago
    My comment was meant to be satire.
malfist 2y ago
When you or I lie on a resume the background check knocks us out of the job. But when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens I think it’s abundantly clear that if OpenAI fails, powerful people will face prosecution. It’s an uncomfortable but unavoidable part of our justice system that we don’t like to prosecute people until they’re no longer winners.
  - anitil 2y ago
    I'm not familiar with the whole situation - what would they be prosecuted for? Violation of copyright? Or is this some sort of 'everything is securities fraud' situation?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - lenerdenator 2y ago
    It's far from clear. Dozens of finance executives wiped a decade worth of economic growth off the United States the year before I graduated high school. My generation will never recover. They left their jobs with more money that I'll make in an entire lifetime. None went to prison.
    - lotsofpulp 2y ago
      If someone in your generation (graduating high school 2009) obtained in demand credentials or skills, then they should have reaped enormous returns from 2013 to 2024. The only people who really “lost” in 2008 were those who were overleveraged from going into debt for houses or education, and then had to default due to income loss in 2008 to 2011 or so. Or those who panic sold all their equities.
      - metadat 2y ago
        How is a new college grad supposed to reap "enormous returns" without significant savings?
        lotsofpulp 2y ago
        From entering a hot labor market with rising wages and investing? The alternative is entering a cool labor market with stagnant or decreasing wages. Obviously, people who already had assets made out better, but that is not a possibility for 99% of high school/college graduates, so useless to consider.
- riku_iki 2y ago
  > But when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens. this can be considered as essential job function, so checking the quality of lying is a part of interviewing process.
- Optimal_Persona 2y ago
  I worked at a ~$20M food company where we had a new CEO coming in. Management/Board were over the moon, saying "This guy has been running a multi-billion $$ company for years." Curious as to why someone would transition so abruptly from the major leagues to the minors, I searched on his name and the first hits were about an active SEC investigation into him for witholding payments to suppliers (small and medium farmers) to inflate the balance sheets to give it a higher valuation for a buyout. He actually turned out to be more effective than the previous 2 CEOs and I forged a perfectly fine working relationship with him, but it made me aware that business people will ignore any variety of moral/legal issues when the dollar signs are in their eyes. I believe he put the SEC thing behind him, avoiding jail time by not quite admitting nor denying guilt and writing a ~$2M personal check.
slowmovintarget 2y ago
He used Chat GPT to hallucinate his CV, I guess.
S_A_P 2y ago
Just the sort of personality type that we need leading the most potentially dangerous new technology in the past 50 years.
- bamboozled 2y ago
  While I get the sentiment, things have a way of working out. Maybe he is actually the best person to do it...no one knows who the best person for an undefined situation will be.
  - gigatree 2y ago
    Is the best person for any position (especially one with tremendous implications for the future of humanity) someone with his character?
    - dylan604 2y ago
      Does it matter if the person is the best or if people think they are? Even our government is led by people that think the person is the best for the role even if they really are not. Why would anyone care about this particular company when that's their view on the gov't?
      - TheNewsIsHere 2y ago
        I would submit that if we care about outcomes then it matters if someone is the best suited for the role. There will always be subjectivity, and “the best” is going to be at least partly defined in terms of who is available. Nevertheless we could insist upon certain standards. Not being a pathological liar, a sociopath, deeply conflicted or self-interested, and so on, seem like good starting positions. I’m not arguing that we live in a reality that reflects this, of course. Just that it would be nice to.
  - drcode 2y ago
    There is no "plot armor" in the real world, protecting humans from having bad things happening Things do not, in fact, have a way of "working out" If we don't want bad things to happen, we have to actively stop bad things from happening
chx 2y ago
On Reddit he doesn't even bother lying, he just straight up admits being a conman. Yishan Wong describes the con: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_best_long_con_you_ever_pulled/cszjqg2/ https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes... Altman admits it's true: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_best_long_con_you_ever_pulled/cszwpgq/ https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes...
- maxbond 2y ago
  To my eyes, Altman appears to be joking.
- MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
  Altman saving Reddit makes me like him more, not less. Imagine rooting for Condé Nast letting Reddit rot to death, Yahoo acquisition style.
s5300 2y ago
[dead]
Copenjin 2y ago
At this point, I hope this is well known.
floppiplopp 2y ago
If Elon Musk were still alive, he'd be soooo jealous.

by jpm_sd 2y ago

ninininino 2y ago

This is startup land. We call it a Painted Door test of the truth. He's just selling product roadmap before things are feature complete, we all do it.

mtnGoat 2y ago
Please don’t say all… I for one have never done this.
- ninininino 2y ago
  My comment was meant to be satire.

malfist 2y ago

When you or I lie on a resume the background check knocks us out of the job. But when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens I think it’s abundantly clear that if OpenAI fails, powerful people will face prosecution. It’s an uncomfortable but unavoidable part of our justice system that we don’t like to prosecute people until they’re no longer winners.
- anitil 2y ago
  I'm not familiar with the whole situation - what would they be prosecuted for? Violation of copyright? Or is this some sort of 'everything is securities fraud' situation?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- lenerdenator 2y ago
  It's far from clear. Dozens of finance executives wiped a decade worth of economic growth off the United States the year before I graduated high school. My generation will never recover. They left their jobs with more money that I'll make in an entire lifetime. None went to prison.
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    If someone in your generation (graduating high school 2009) obtained in demand credentials or skills, then they should have reaped enormous returns from 2013 to 2024. The only people who really “lost” in 2008 were those who were overleveraged from going into debt for houses or education, and then had to default due to income loss in 2008 to 2011 or so. Or those who panic sold all their equities.
    - metadat 2y ago
      How is a new college grad supposed to reap "enormous returns" without significant savings?
      - lotsofpulp 2y ago
        From entering a hot labor market with rising wages and investing? The alternative is entering a cool labor market with stagnant or decreasing wages. Obviously, people who already had assets made out better, but that is not a possibility for 99% of high school/college graduates, so useless to consider.
riku_iki 2y ago
> But when the CEO lies on a resume, nothing happens. this can be considered as essential job function, so checking the quality of lying is a part of interviewing process.
Optimal_Persona 2y ago
I worked at a ~$20M food company where we had a new CEO coming in. Management/Board were over the moon, saying "This guy has been running a multi-billion $$ company for years." Curious as to why someone would transition so abruptly from the major leagues to the minors, I searched on his name and the first hits were about an active SEC investigation into him for witholding payments to suppliers (small and medium farmers) to inflate the balance sheets to give it a higher valuation for a buyout. He actually turned out to be more effective than the previous 2 CEOs and I forged a perfectly fine working relationship with him, but it made me aware that business people will ignore any variety of moral/legal issues when the dollar signs are in their eyes. I believe he put the SEC thing behind him, avoiding jail time by not quite admitting nor denying guilt and writing a ~$2M personal check.

slowmovintarget 2y ago

He used Chat GPT to hallucinate his CV, I guess.

S_A_P 2y ago

Just the sort of personality type that we need leading the most potentially dangerous new technology in the past 50 years.

bamboozled 2y ago
While I get the sentiment, things have a way of working out. Maybe he is actually the best person to do it...no one knows who the best person for an undefined situation will be.
- gigatree 2y ago
  Is the best person for any position (especially one with tremendous implications for the future of humanity) someone with his character?
  - dylan604 2y ago
    Does it matter if the person is the best or if people think they are? Even our government is led by people that think the person is the best for the role even if they really are not. Why would anyone care about this particular company when that's their view on the gov't?
    - TheNewsIsHere 2y ago
      I would submit that if we care about outcomes then it matters if someone is the best suited for the role. There will always be subjectivity, and “the best” is going to be at least partly defined in terms of who is available. Nevertheless we could insist upon certain standards. Not being a pathological liar, a sociopath, deeply conflicted or self-interested, and so on, seem like good starting positions. I’m not arguing that we live in a reality that reflects this, of course. Just that it would be nice to.
- drcode 2y ago
  There is no "plot armor" in the real world, protecting humans from having bad things happening Things do not, in fact, have a way of "working out" If we don't want bad things to happen, we have to actively stop bad things from happening

chx 2y ago

On Reddit he doesn't even bother lying, he just straight up admits being a conman. Yishan Wong describes the con: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_best_long_con_you_ever_pulled/cszjqg2/ https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes... Altman admits it's true: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_best_long_con_you_ever_pulled/cszwpgq/ https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the_bes...

maxbond 2y ago
To my eyes, Altman appears to be joking.
MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
Altman saving Reddit makes me like him more, not less. Imagine rooting for Condé Nast letting Reddit rot to death, Yahoo acquisition style.

s5300 2y ago

[dead]

Copenjin 2y ago

At this point, I hope this is well known.

floppiplopp 2y ago

If Elon Musk were still alive, he'd be soooo jealous.