In recent weeks, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has been a hot topic. Two weeks ago, he was fired by OpenAI's board of directors, which caused a flurry of speculation and discussion. The exact reason for this remains a mystery, and even Altman himself chose to remain silent. There has been no comment from Microsoft, and the former board members, who disagreed with Altman and subsequently resigned, have not disclosed any information in public.
The latest report from the Washington Post says Altman has been accused of "psychologically abusive" and "harmful" behavior. He was accused of manipulating employees, creating chaos and trying to hire other board members. This behavior may have been one of the important factors in the board's sudden decision to fire him.
There is also a report from Wall Street** detailing Altman's conflict with board member Helen Toner. Toner had criticized OpenAI for its decision to release ChatGPT, only for Altman to accuse her of harming OpenAI and trying to convince board members to fire her.
Until recently, a major reason for Altman's dismissal was his dispute with the board over how quickly the company's AI technology would be commercialized. The board is committed to responsible and ethical AI development, and Altman seems to be increasingly deviating from their mission. However, there is also growing evidence that Altman's personality may also be a big issue.
Despite this, when Altman was fired, many employees resisted and even threatened to follow him to Microsoft. The Washington Post report also noted that Altman's departure also threatens an investment agreement that would allow employees to sell their shares back to OpenAI so they can cash out their equity before the company goes public.
However, Altman and OpenAI quickly recovered from the turmoil of a few weeks ago. Altman was reappointed CEO last week and immediately began actively engaging with ** in an attempt to shape the conversation around his return. At the same time, OpenAI is also working to return to its daily business. Just this week, Microsoft announced the integration of the company's latest set of tools into its Copilot virtual assistant, signaling that the commercial partnership between the two companies is moving at full speed. Still, Altman's image may have been permanently damaged.