Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the AI chatbot company that launched ChatGPT last year, was fired on Friday. Mira Muratti, the chief technology officer of OpenAI, will take over as CEO. OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, said it no longer trusts Altman to lead the company. Altman, 38, became a tech international sensation with the release of ChatGPT, an synthetic intelligence chatbot with remarkable talents, producing human-stage content material like poems or artwork in a count of seconds.
OpenAI’s board said in a statement that Altman’s departure “follows a thoughtful review process,” which concluded that “he was not consistently clear in his communications with the board, thereby impairing his ability to perform its responsibilities.” Obstruction occurred.”
“The board has expressed a loss of confidence in his capacity to sustain leadership at OpenAI,” it declared.
Altman’s decision to release the app last year paid off in ways he never imagined, catapulting the Missouri-born Stanford student into household stardom.
The launch of ChatGPIT ignited an AI race, involving tech giants Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has incorporated the company’s technology into its offerings, including search engine Bing.
Altman, having testified before the US Congress on AI and engaged with global leaders on the subject, has faced mounting pressure amid calls for regulations to mitigate risks like AI’s potential involvement in bioweapons, misinformation, and other threats. The board expressed gratitude for Altman’s significant contributions to the establishment and expansion of OpenAI while emphasizing the need for new leadership in navigating the organization’s future.
Altman will be replaced on an interim basis by Mira Muratti, the company’s chief technology officer, the statement said.
‘Lots of sympathy’ –
OpenAI’s board of directors includes OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Altman led a major developer conference for OpenAI earlier this month, announcing a new set of products that received a largely positive response in Silicon Valley.
The young CEO told AFP on Thursday that he understands some of the concerns when it comes to how people feel about AI and its disruptive powers.
“(I have) a lot of sympathy for the fact that someone would think about it,” he told AFP of the platform that is credited with starting a revolution in generic artificial intelligence (AI). No matter how I feel.”
Altman was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, where his appearance drew a crowd of fans, many of whom wanted to take selfies with him.