ChatGPT: OpenAI fires CEO Sam Altman
Sam Altman, the head of artificial intelligence company OpenAI, was fired by the board of directors citing a loss of confidence in his ability to lead the company.
The board said Mr. Altman had “not consistently been forthright in his communications,” hindering his ability to carry out his responsibilities.
OpenAI is behind the emerging ChatGPT trend in artificial intelligence.
Mr. Altman is one of the founders of the company, has always been the representative face of OpenAI and was called “the boss of ChatGPT” by the community when this chatbot was born a year ago.
The 38-year-old has also become a spokesman for the growing industry, appearing before the US Congress to testify about new regulations for artificial intelligence this year.
The announcement of Mr. Altman’s departure sent shockwaves throughout the tech world.
On social networks, former Google head Eric Schmidt called Mr. Altman “my hero” and said he had “changed our shared world forever.”
OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman announced he was stepping down from his role at the company after Mr. Altman was fired.
OpenAI started operations in 2015 as a non-profit organization.
The company was restructured in 2019 and is now backed by Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars.
Just a few weeks ago, OpenAI was reportedly in talks to sell shares to investors, which could value it at more than $80 billion.
The company said chief technology officer Mira Murati will take over as interim CEO effective immediately. The company will conduct a search for a long-term successor.
ChatGPT is known for its ability to respond to users with human-like text, images, and videos.
Hundreds of millions of people have tried the app and many are now regularly using it to support work and study – shocking in some cases, such as teachers receiving bot-written essays write and people worry they will lose their jobs.
The company has also faced legal action from authors who say the bot has expanded its capabilities by scraping their work, violating copyright law.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who along with Mr. Altman is one of the co-founders of OpenAI, has also criticized OpenAI for straying from its non-profit roots.
