SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 15 November 2024, Friday |

Sam Altman restored as OpenAI CEO after his tumultuous ouster

Only a few days after being fired, Sam Altman is taking the helm of OpenAI once more, setting off heated debates about the startup’s future in the midst of an AI boom.

The creator of ChatGPT also introduced a new inaugural board, with Adam D’Angelo and former Treasury Secretary of the United States Larry Summers serving as directors and former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor as chair. A member of the initial board that had fired Altman was D’Angelo.

The return of Altman could potentially usher in a new era for the startup which had long juggled concerns among staff about AI’s dangers and its potential for commercialization.

“i’m looking forward to returning to openai,” Altman said in a post on the X social media platform late on Tuesday.

The original board had given scant explanation for Altman’s firing on Friday other than his lack of candor and its need to defend OpenAI’s mission to develop AI that benefits humanity.

“The return of Altman to the board consolidates his influence over the direction of OpenAI, and probably means it will be more bold and profit focused, but also potentially less risk averse,” said Kyle Rodda, analyst at Capital.com.

    Source:
  • Reuters