Illustration created by DALL-E with the prompt “A young technician is holding a single 3-prong power cord in his hand which he has just taken out of the wall. We clearly see the wall socket. He has a wry smile on his face as if he knows something we don’t. Pixar 3d aspect radio 16:9”
In a narrative that seems ripped from a tech support forum, OpenAI just unplugged Sam Altman, waited 10 seconds, then plugged him back in. It’s the universal tech fix – and it looks like it worked. But since Sam is OpenAI’s fourth CEO in as many days, let’s not just assume the crazy is over.
The OpenAI reboot also features two new board members: former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, who will take over as board chair. Adam D’Angelo, co-founder and CEO of Quora, will remain on the board. Everyone expects Microsoft (a major stakeholder) to show up somewhere in the governance structure, but so far, nothing has been announced.
The saga is going to make an incredible Michael Lewis book and an equally incredible Aaron Sorkin screenplay. I’ve already asked GPT-4 Turbo to write treatments in both styles. The results are exceptional. (You should try it. Details below.) I’m planning to produce the movie exclusively using AI since both OpenAI and Microsoft will indemnify me against the copyright infringement lawsuits I’m going to be hit with. So fun!!!
Back to OpenAI’s reboot. This shadow dance of the AI elite deserves everyone’s attention – not because of the palace intrigue, but because there’s a palace. Big AI is clearly, obviously, and dramatically controlled by a very small group of people. Do with that information what you will.
Oh, wait… I forgot about Emmett Shear, the ephemeral executive who led OpenAI for 24 hours. He wrote a thank you tweet that concluded, “I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”
So, there you have it. All’s well that ends… um, IDK. It’s over for now. ChatGPT is still working, as are the APIs. Sam is back. Time for a big turkey dinner and some pumpkin pie. Happy Thanksgiving.
P.S. If you want to have some real fun, find any article (or articles) that describes the saga of Sam Altman. Then, in the paid version of ChatGPT, type the following prompt: “Here’s an article(s) that summarizes an incredible saga of Sam Altman’s battle with OpenAI’s BOD. Please write a movie treatment for it in the style of Aaron Sorkin.” Include the URLs of the articles or just copy and paste them into the context window. Use the LinkReader plugin or choose the “GPT-4” option. The output will stun you.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.