Hundreds of staff at OpenAI threatened to quit the leading artificial intelligence company on Monday and join Microsoft. They would follow OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, who said he was starting an AI subsidiary at Microsoft following his shock sacking from the company whose ChatGPT chatbot has led the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technology.
In a letter, some of OpenAI’s most senior staff members threatened to leave the company if the board did not get replaced. Included in the list of names of signers was Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and one of members of the four-person board that voted to oust Altman. Reports said as many as 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signed the letter.
Hundreds of OpenAI staff threaten mass exodus to join Sam Altman at Microsoft; read full letter – Detail Points
– Hundreds of staff at OpenAI are threatening to quit and join Microsoft
– They would follow OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, who was starting an AI subsidiary at Microsoft
– Some of OpenAI’s senior staff members threatened to leave if the board did not get replaced
– As many as 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signed the letter
– OpenAI has appointed Emmett Shear as its new CEO, despite pressure from Microsoft and other major investors to reinstate Altman
– Microsoft has assured OpenAI employees of positions at the new subsidiary
– OpenAI stood by its decision to remove Altman, citing behavior and lack of transparency
– Microsoft has invested more than $10 billion in OpenAI and has confidence in their product roadmap
– OpenAI is in fierce competition to develop its own AI models and platforms such as ChatGPT
– The tech has triggered warnings about the dangers of its misuse, including harmful disinformation and manipulation of images
1. What triggered the threat of staff quitting OpenAI and joining Microsoft?
The threat was triggered by the sacking of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman and the subsequent changes in leadership at the company. The staff members threatened to leave if the board did not get replaced.
2. How many employees of OpenAI reportedly signed the letter threatening to quit?
Reports said as many as 500 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signed the letter.
3. Who did Microsoft assure would have positions at its new subsidiary?
Microsoft assured OpenAI employees that there are positions for all of them at its new subsidiary should they choose to join.
4. Who was appointed as the new CEO of OpenAI?
Emmett Shear, a former chief executive of Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch, was appointed as the new CEO of OpenAI.
