◇ Program summary
1. OpenAI executives are leaving on a large scale and the leadership is facing major changes
On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 25, San Francisco-based OpenAI experienced a massive exodus of leadership. Hours after Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced her departure, CEO Sam Altman revealed that Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and Research Vice President Barret Zoph will also leave the company.
Altman said in X platform posts and messages to employees that McGrew and Zoff’s decision to leave had nothing to do with Mulati, but believed that a joint leadership transition was reasonable at this time. He also shared some personnel promotions, but did not reveal the name of the new chief technology officer, and said that he will devote more time to the company’s technology and product development.
“Leadership changes are a natural part of a company, especially a fast-growing, demanding company,” Altmann said. He acknowledged that the change was unusual, but believed the reasons Mulati explained were valid and also It is to choose to make changes during the peak development period of OpenAI.
In his farewell message, Zoff thanked the team and said it was a natural time for him to explore new opportunities outside of OpenAI.
Mulati announced her resignation on Wednesday at 2:22 p.m. She posted the news of her resignation in a message to employees and a post in which she thanked Altman and President Greg Brockman for the praise. “Cutting-edge artificial intelligence research” by company employees. She said she resigned to “create time and space for her own exploration” and pledged to support the company during the leadership transition.
“We push the boundaries of scientific understanding in our quest to improve human well-being,” Mulati wrote in the letter. Although she is no longer working alongside the team, she will still support everyone. Altmann responded to her post on the
Murati has worked at OpenAI for six and a half years and participated in the development of industry-changing AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and Sora. ChatGPT attracted widespread attention after its release in November 2022, quickly bringing her and Altman into the global spotlight. She also appeared on the cover of Fortune magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women” in October 2023, and was selected by the board of directors as interim CEO after Altman was temporarily dismissed.
2. San Francisco plans to waive $10 million in annual fees for small businesses
Annual business license fees for most restaurants and bars in San Francisco could be waived if voters pass business tax reform in November. The city government estimates that this proposal will save small businesses approximately $10 million per year, with 90% of restaurants and 87% of bars and nightclubs saving thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per year.
The cost-cutting proposal was sponsored by Mayor London Breed, City Treasurer José Cisneros, City Council President Aaron Peskin and Councilman Rafael Co-launched by Rafael Mandelman on Wednesday (September 25). Amanda Fried, policy director for the Fiscal Office, said the legislation would waive at least one license fee for 6,916 businesses.
The legislation would waive 49 license fees, covering fees for outdoor seating, pool tables, extended hours, and cash registers or candles. Fried noted that the fees are part of about 100 fees charged by multiple departments that are ultimately rolled up into a unified license bill.
Laurie Thomas, owner of Nice Ventures, which operates two restaurants in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, said she recently paid a total of $8,182 in license fees, not including the business income taxes the restaurants pay to the city. “This has a huge impact on restaurants. The percentage of fees being charged is extremely high,” said Thomas, who is also executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.
Peskin said the legislation will help business owners focus on operating and connecting with customers by eliminating unnecessary fees.
3. USDA: Bird flu found in cattle in California
According to a report recently released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), agricultural workers have discovered avian influenza in dozens of cattle herds in California in the past month. California is one of 14 states where avian influenza viruses have been confirmed in dairy cow herds since March. California reports that cases of bird flu have been found in 40 cattle herds.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), HPAI is a highly contagious virus that often kills poultry. Although the virus typically kills only about 2 percent of infected cattle, the USDA said farms in several states have culled hundreds of cows this year that failed to resume milk production. Since February 2022, the USDA has been working with state officials to test for the virus in poultry. In March this year, the agency received its first report of infection in dairy cows. Since then, the USDA has been assessing the prevalence of avian influenza viruses in U.S. dairy herds, recording a total of 238 cases in 14 states.
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