2024-03-08 22:00:00
Following an independent investigation commissioned by OpenAI’s nonprofit board, it was concluded that CEO Sam Altman’s behavior “did not necessitate his removal.” Surviving an attempted boardroom coup in November, Altman will be reinstated to the board.
In a press release, board chairman Bret Taylor stated that law firm WilmerHale interviewed board members, employees and reviewed “more than 30,000 documents” to conclude that Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman “are the right leaders for OpenAI.”
In addition to Altman, Taylor also announced three new OpenAI board members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, former legal executive at Sony; and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. They will join Taylor, Altman, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and Larry Summers in governing OpenAI’s nonprofit parent company.
For those seeking to better understand why Altman was fired from his position last fall, the public summary of the WilmerHale investigation is frustratingly thin on details.
It was stated that the board believed it would “mitigate internal management challenges” by firing Altman suddenly, and that the “decision did not arise from concerns about the safety or security of the product, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers or business partners”.
The investigation summary uses the same vague language that OpenAI’s previous board published to justify its decision to fire Altman: that the incident, known as “The Blip,” was a “consequence of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust between the previous counsel and Mr. Altman.”
WilmerHale also found that the previous board acted “without advance notice to key stakeholders and without a full investigation or opportunity for Mr. Altman to address the previous board’s concerns.”
Altman apologized because he believed “a former OpenAI board member was harming OpenAI through his actions” but declined to elaborate. OpenAI plans to “strengthen” its conflict of interest policy for employees and create a hotline for whistleblowers. During the call with reporters, Altman seemed excited, stating that he was pleased with the outcome of the situation.
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