Ep 149: Sam Altman leaving and the future of OpenAI – 7 things you need to know

Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly become a transformative force across industries, driving innovation, efficiency, and growth. As business owners and decision-makers, it is crucial for us to stay abreast of the latest developments in the AI landscape. In this article, we will delve into the recent events surrounding OpenAI and their potential impact on the future of the industry. Join us as we explore the implications for businesses and the opportunities that lie ahead.

OpenAI: Forging the Path to Artificial General Intelligence

OpenAI has been at the forefront of AI research, aiming to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can perform any human task. Their groundbreaking language model, GPT-3, showcased the potential of generative AI by generating human-like texts, guiding decision-making, and revolutionizing various applications. The possibilities seemed limitless.

Recent Turmoil: The Firing and Resignation

In a shocking turn of events, recent turmoil has surrounded OpenAI, with the firing of key individuals and the resignation of others. While the exact reasons for these actions remain unknown, their repercussions are undeniable. The departure of influential figures can unsettle investors, disrupt ongoing projects, and pose challenges to the company’s long-term strategy.

The Fallout: Threats and Competition

The aftermath of these developments has raised concerns within OpenAI. Reports suggest that a significant number of employees have threatened to leave the organization, potentially leading to a loss of talent and institutional knowledge. Additionally, the emergence of potential competitors, such as Poe.com, and the introduction of GPTs and GPT stores by OpenAI itself, has intensified the race to harness the power of language models and chatbots.

Impact on Business: Uncertainty and Opportunities

As a business owner or decision-maker, it is crucial to evaluate the potential impact of these developments. The uncertainty surrounding OpenAI’s future presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, the instability may deter potential enterprise clients and prompt existing partners to reconsider their collaborations. On the other hand, the talent pool now potentially available in the market provides an opportunity to tap into AI expertise to drive innovation within your own organization.

Microsoft’s Involvement and the Broader Landscape

One notable development amid this turmoil is Microsoft’s engagement. Their CEO, Satya Nadella, has extended an open invitation to anyone from OpenAI to join their team. This move not only positions Microsoft favorably in attracting top AI talent but also signifies the company’s commitment to AI research and development. The repercussions of these events extend beyond OpenAI, impacting the overall AI landscape and potentially reshuffling the cards for competitors like Amazon, Anthropic, and Google.

Conclusion:

OpenAI’s recent turmoil has cast a spotlight on the intricate nature of the AI industry, its vulnerabilities, and its potential for disruption. As business owners and decision-makers, we must keep a keen eye on these developments to adapt accordingly. Leveraging the talent pool, exploring partnerships, and prioritizing agility will enable us to navigate this dynamic landscape and unlock the myriad opportunities that lie ahead.

Topics Covered in This Episode

1. Sam Altman leaving OpenAI and the Future of the Organization
2. Speculation on the Possible Role of Adam D’Angelo in Sam Altman’s Firing
3. Satya Nadella’s Influence and Microsoft’s Potential Role
4. Potential Consequences for OpenAI
5. Growing Discontent of OpenAI Employees

Podcast Transcript

Jordan Wilson [00:00:18]:

If you follow tech news, the last 72 hours plus has been absolutely Insane. Chat, GPT, and OpenAI have had more twists and turns than your favorite roller coaster at At Cedar Point. We’re gonna talk about that and, really, how Sam Altman potentially leaving, maybe leaving, maybe not leaving, OpenAI affects the future of not just OpenAI and Microsoft, but the generative AI space at large. So we’re gonna be talking about all of the latest updates in this ongoing saga that is changing minute by minute. I can’t wait to jump into today’s show. So welcome. My name’s Jordan Wilson. This is Everyday AI.

Jordan Wilson [00:01:09]:

Everyday AI is your daily Livestream, podcasts, free daily newsletter helping everyday people like you and me learn what’s going on in the world of Gen AI And how we can all leverage it. Right? It’s one thing to keep up and know what’s going on. It’s another thing to be able to use that to grow your company and to grow your career. That’s that’s That’s what we’re all about here at Everyday AI. So this is a different type of show. So, if you’re new here, thank you. And, also, if you’re joining on the podcast, check the show notes. As always, you can contact us.

Jordan Wilson [00:01:43]:

I love I love hearing from people, You know, saying, hey. I I listen to the show while I walk my dog or while I’m on the treadmill. Reach out. I’d love to hear. Where do you where do you listen to the show? But it’s it’s always fun, I think, too to to come participate in the live stream. So, if you are listening on the podcast, make sure to check out the show notes. You can always come and participate. And today’s today’s show’s gonna be a little different.

Daily AI news

Jordan Wilson [00:02:07]:

It’s just me. Right? More on that in a second, but let’s let’s at least take a very, Very high level overview of what’s going on in the world of AI news. Little shorter today, but, 2 2 quick little previews. Yeah. AI controlled killer drones are definitely a thing, And nations around the globe are extremely worried about it. So great in-depth article from the New York Times going over just Some really troublesome things to keep in mind when it comes to AI killer AI controlled killer drones. Yes. That is literally what they’re being called.

Jordan Wilson [00:02:46]:

On lighter news, Amazon is launching new AI ready courses, to push GenAI education Specifically geared toward getting, kind of new users onto AWS and just new people into the AWS, the Amazon Web Service Platform. So pretty cool. I love that all the big tech companies right now are putting out great high quality free courses to learn their platform, of course. But that one is definitely worth checking out as well called AI ready. Alright. So, for for those new stories and more, Make sure you go to your everyday AI.com. Sign up for the free daily newsletter, and check out. So every single day, I don’t I don’t know about y’all if if anyone’s listening.

Jordan Wilson [00:03:29]:

If you read the newsletter, if you like it, let me know. We put a lot of work into it. You know, it’s not just like the other, you know, 5,000 AI newsletters out there that just use AI to tell you what’s going on in AI. I’m an actual human. I write this stuff. Right? But we break down the conversation every day that we have on the podcast into pretty detailed, in in to in a very detailed way on how you can take what we learned from the podcast episode and apply it, to your company, to your career. Alright. So with that, thank you everyone for joining, for joining live.

Jordan Wilson [00:04:04]:

I’m excited. Sarah saying, and So keen to understand the dynamics of the sit of the situation a little bit more. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts and opinions, Jordan. Thank you, Sarah. I’m excited as well. And if you are joining me live, thank you. But also let me know because it’s been a couple of weeks since I had a kind of a solo Because normally, on the everyday AI show, we bring guests in, and and we’ve had nonstop guests. Fantastic.

Jordan Wilson [00:04:29]:

I mean, I’m talking, you know, Director of, marketing at NVIDIA. You know, some some high level government employees, you know, running credit unions here in the US. Just some fantastic guests we’ve had over the last couple of weeks, but I haven’t had the opportunity to go on one of those rants. So Maybe if you are listening right now live, do me a favor. How how hot should I make my hot takes today? Should it be like Like, 1 flame emoji, 2 flame emoji, 3 flame emoji. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of a lot of, pent up hot takes. So let me know.

Jordan Wilson [00:05:05]:

But, yes, thank you for joining live. Michael saying, yes. This is gonna be a good one. I hope it is. Jay, thanks for joining. Singh, as the kids say, this ought to be an icy one today. I it’s so hard to keep up with what the kids say, Jay. I haven’t heard ICEE, so, I guess the kids that I know that I usually try to say, oh, the kids say this.

Jordan Wilson [00:05:26]:

Apparently, the kids are not cool anymore that I’m following and listening to. Alright. Well, hey. Thank you everyone for joining. Whoever this LinkedIn user is, thank you. They said, like, 7 flame emojis. Brian, thanks for joining. He he said one, so maybe maybe we’ll go in the middle.

Jordan Wilson [00:05:43]:

Maybe we’ll go in the middle. Thanks Thanks for joining everyone. It’s it’s it’s so good to see some of you people here. Val, thanks for joining us. Pierre, Paul, thank you for joining us. Alright. No more. No more.

Recap of OpenAI drama

Jordan Wilson [00:05:57]:

We’re gonna get straight into it. Alright. Let’s let’s just get straight into it. And, again, if you have questions, comments, Make sure to get them in. This is gonna be an interactive show, I hope. So, if you’ve been sleeping over the last 4 days, This is the highest level recap possible. And it’s funny. Even at this high level recap I’m gonna go over right now, We’re not even gonna mention 1 of the CEOs because it’s it’s been that crazy.

Jordan Wilson [00:06:24]:

Alright. So here’s what happens, or here’s what is currently happening because it’s literally changing by the minute. So Friday, OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, fires Sam Altman, one of the cofounders and the CEO. Also, In protest, Greg Brackman quits as president, and they appoint an interim CEO who holds that position for, I think, Just over 24 hours. Alright. Next day, Saturday, everyone panics. Literally, everyone panics Saturday. Investors are working furiously behind the scenes to bring Sam Altman back.

Jordan Wilson [00:07:00]:

I’m gonna talk about why because I do have some hot takes here. I have some, some opinions, some hot takes, some, you know, some guesses on what might be going on behind the scenes. But then Sunday alright. Sunday, Altman so Sam Altman is meeting with OpenAI, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Reportedly mediating the meetings, trying to bring all sides together, and it seems like people are working toward, bringing Sam Altman back. And, again, we’ll get into this, but there was no real, quote, unquote, official, reason why they said Sam Altman Was was fire. More or less, they said that, he was consistently, not candid enough in his communications with the board. And that was the only The only kind of, reasoning that they gave at the time so there’s obviously a lot more going on here. So that’s what happened Sunday.

Jordan Wilson [00:07:52]:

And then Monday, Emmet Scheer, the Twitch, CEO former Twitch CEO was named CEO of OpenAI. And then Altman and Brockman and others, this is kind of overnight Sunday, early morning Monday. So at that point, Sam Altman, was hired at Microsoft to lead their new kind of AI research arm, and What’s extremely spicy, 700 plus staff have essentially threatened to quit. Out of, you know, 770, it’s I I’ve seen different numbers floating around as of this morning, but seems like safely, About 90% of their staff have threatened to quit or have threatened to leave and follow Sam Altman to Microsoft or whatever may happen. So how crazy is that? Right? You have OpenAI, which is the The bell of the ball, you know, the the the shiniest object that we’ve seen, probably in the US tech space since, you know, Zuckerberg and Facebook of the, you know, early or mid 2000. Right? So OpenAI has has gone from relatively, you know, relative obscurity until maybe 2019, 2020 into a household name, into a tech rocket ship over the course of 18 months. And I I can’t recall a time when a company has gone from essentially zero To a $100,000,000,000 company, essentially overnight. Right? Over over the course of essentially, you know, 18 to 24 months.

Jordan Wilson [00:09:35]:

But for the most part, over in 12 months. Actually, probably just since they, you know, started selling their, you know, commercial product In March. So really a big chunk of that $100,000,000,000, of of kind of revenue that they’re tracking toward has just come in the last 6 months. When was the last time we’ve seen a company go from 0 to essentially a 100,000,000,000 in a matter of months? It doesn’t happen. It literally doesn’t happen. Okay? So that’s, hopefully, to put it into perspective, how wild The last, you know, 4 days have been in the AI world, in the tech scene. Yeah. Kind of, Brian.

Jordan Wilson [00:10:16]:

Kind of and Reminiscent of Apple and Jobs. I was gonna say this is the biggest, I’d say, the biggest firing, you know, since Steve Jobs was famously or infamously, you know, fired from Apple way back in the day. He obviously came back. But, yeah, I’d say for sure, this is the at least I’d say this is the highest profile, kind of firing that I’ve seen probably since then. Right? Again, there’s people out there who have a little more, historical memory than me, but I’ve I’ve been following the tech scene pretty closely for a couple of decades. And, yeah, there there hasn’t been anything, like this, I would say. So Let’s get into it. Let’s get into the 7 things that you need to know.

#1 – The Ink Hasn’t Dried

Jordan Wilson [00:10:57]:

So whether you’re like the rest of us and following this along and just refreshing Twitter, Which I kind of refuse to call x. It just sounds weird. So if you’ve been breaking your Twitter, trying to see what’s going on, it’s confusing. We’re gonna break it down and and hopefully maybe offer some insights into what’s going on here. Alright. Let’s get started. Number 1, The number 1 thing that you need to know right now about this whole Sam Altman OpenAI Drama. The ink has not dried.

Jordan Wilson [00:11:29]:

Okay? What’s that mean? It means literally things are changing by the 2nd. There’s a good chance. Right? So so we’re we’re live here. I’m in Chicago. It’s 7:42 AM my time. There’s a good chance if you’re listening to this on the podcast later today in 3, 4, 5 hours, then a good chunk of this has changed, if I’m being honest. This is one of the most for a company of this size for a company of this size. This is one of the most fluid and shifting situations one can imagine.

Jordan Wilson [00:12:01]:

That’s why I think it’s been entertaining and and grabbing the headlines literally worldwide is because This doesn’t happen, but the ink has not dried. Nothing is finalized. You know? And so what does that mean? Well, as an example, This this story from a couple of hours ago, and I am sharing some things on the screen. If you’re listening on the podcast, don’t worry. I’m gonna describe this. But, An article from, CNN Business just from a couple hours ago says, you know, Microsoft CEO doesn’t dismiss the possibility of Sam Altman returning to OpenAI. Right? It’s a very real possibility. That’s what it seems like the overwhelming majority of OpenAI’s investors, the general public, And those 700 plus OpenAI employees, people are trying to get Sam Altman back to OpenAI.

Jordan Wilson [00:12:50]:

More on why I think that’s happening here in a minute. But Could Sam could Sam Altman at the end of the day be at OpenAI? Yes. Could Sam Altman be at Microsoft and leading this new AI research arm? Absolutely. Could Sam Altman, by the end of today, be leading a completely different company? Yes. He could. Nothing is finalized. The ink is not dry. What that means is, you know, generally, you know, generally, these these type of agreements, you know, when you have, 1 employee being fired, kind of out of nowhere and, you know, maybe joining another company.

Jordan Wilson [00:13:26]:

Usually takes time. Right. As far as I know, it hasn’t been reported. There’s no contract signed. So so nothing is final. And I’m curious. For our live audience, thanks for joining. What are your biggest questions on this? Or or or maybe I’m gonna say this.

Jordan Wilson [00:13:41]:

How do you think this is gonna end? What’s gonna happen by the end of today? Right. Is the ink going to start to dry? I I don’t think so. I don’t think so. You would think you would think that there would, be some things kind of starting to to finalize. I don’t think so. So let’s, let’s see. Yes. Tanya.

Jordan Wilson [00:14:05]:

Tanya, thank you for the comment. Tanya saying, doesn’t this give Sam Altman the chance to bring on new ideas whether he stays Or uses this as a bargaining chip to get what he wants. Absolutely. We’re gonna get into, at the very end, who I think the winners and the losers are, and I think y’all are gonna be surprised On who I say who the winners are and who the losers are. Yeah. A great question, Pierre Ball. So what happened to, Mira, and Mira Muradi. Hopefully, I pronounced that right.

Jordan Wilson [00:14:31]:

So I believe she was the the interim CEO for about 24 hours. As as far as I know, she is now one of those 700 plus OpenAI employees saying, hey. We’re we’re gonna leave. We’re gonna leave. If you don’t bring, you know, if the board Doesn’t resign the current board and bring Sam Altman back. Yeah. So it’s it’s wild times right now. Alright.

#2 – There are More Unknowns Than Knowns

Jordan Wilson [00:14:53]:

Let’s let’s jump into number 2. And, yes, this show just like the OpenAI situation is gonna be a little bit all over the place, FYI. Alright. Number 2. There are more Unknowns then knowns. Right? That’s for sure. All of the reporting is conjecture. People are just guessing.

Jordan Wilson [00:15:14]:

Reporters are working with anonymous sources. There hasn’t really been anything officially said. Right? Like, number 1, why was Sam Boltman fired? Right. The statement that OpenAI’s board put out essentially just said that he wasn’t consistently candid in his communications with the board, which caused them to lose trust in his leadership. But, like, y’all, like, what does that mean? What does that mean? Alright. With a company as important and fast moving and innovative as OpenAI, Let’s be honest. How much communication can a CEO have with its board? Do you want 4 hours of daily updates. You know? Sam Altman just, was just about a week a week or two out From, the big dev day announcements, that that happened.

Jordan Wilson [00:16:10]:

Things are happening quickly, so I was very curious about how that was worded. Consistently candid. Okay? And, also, I’m sure that there’s things I don’t know this, but I’m sure there’s things as a tech CEO that you probably don’t tell the board until something is finalized. Right? I’m sure there’s probably dozens of things that are up in the air that that the OpenAI and its very talented staff are working on that. You probably don’t tell your board every single one of those because you know from experience that 80% of them, 90% of them may not come to fruition. So so in my opinion, the board’s reasoning or that statement that says, you know, that Altman was not consistently candid. To me, that was the worst. It was the worst type of reasoning you can say Because I don’t believe at a company that large, at a company that innovative, there is no way a CEO can be, quote, unquote, consistently candid Because that would require more hours than there are in the day.

Jordan Wilson [00:17:10]:

That would require the CEO talking for many hours a day to the board to be and Distantly candid. But being honest, that’s some hot garbage. Alright. So what else is unknown? Well, I don’t know. Did you know, there’s Plenty of rumors out there. Right? I’m not gonna get into all of them, but people are saying, oh, you know, GPT 5 is is out and ready, and Maybe Sam Altman didn’t tell the board or, oh, artificial general intelligence, AGI has been achieved internally. And, you know, maybe the board doesn’t like that. And maybe, you know, because technically, OpenAI is set up as a nonprofit.

Jordan Wilson [00:17:48]:

Right. So they have a, quote, unquote, nonprofit mission. So maybe the board is saying, oh, well, the the commercial side, the profit side Has been far too successful, has taken up far too much of the company’s time. Maybe that’s what they’re worried about. I don’t know. There are literally Too many unknowns. You know? Was some of their recent breakthroughs, seemingly too dangerous? Right? And it’s kind of within their mission to, You know, keep AGI or AI in check-in for the batter of humanity. Right? So was some recent developments too off brand For OpenAI.

Jordan Wilson [00:18:28]:

You know? Did they internally have the AGI working? And, you know, if you’re not a dork, AGI is essentially when the artificial intelligence is better than humans and doesn’t really need us. Right? It’s kind of the next level of development and something that OpenAI has been openly working toward for years. They’ve been working toward AGI, artificial general intelligence. Maybe they’re getting there closer than everyone realized. Maybe it’s not gonna take 3, 5, 10 years. Maybe it’s happening. We don’t know. There’s unknowns.

Jordan Wilson [00:18:59]:

Too many unknowns. So even even the CEO who just took over, I think I’m I’m losing track of days here in the last 24 hours. Emmett Shear, he he posted this on Twitter. Kind of his plan for the next 30 days. At the top of plan was to hire an independent investigator to dig into the process leading up to this point and generate a full report. Also, y’all, If the board did not fully disclose its reasoning for for firing Sam Altman, I don’t know. If I’m the CEO, I don’t care how much money you throw at me. I’m saying I’m not taking this job until you tell me everything.

Jordan Wilson [00:19:41]:

Why did you fire him? You gotta tell me. Right? We shouldn’t have to hire a third party investigator to find out what’s happening under your roof. CEO should know. Right. Also important to know because we say, oh, you know, people are speculating. Oh, maybe something, you you know, Some recent developments at OpenAI make, the generative AI dangerous. Right? Maybe ChatGPT is dangerous now. One thing Emmett Sheer did say in this tweet, He said, at the end of it it’s a very long tweet.

Jordan Wilson [00:20:13]:

He said p p at PPS, before I took the job, I checked on the reasoning behind the change, and he says The board did not remove Sam over any specific disagreement on safety. Their reasoning was completely different than that. I’m not crazy enough to take this job without board support for commercializing our awesome models. Okay. So it wasn’t a safety thing. Alright? So what the heck? What the heck is going on? So many unknowns. So so many unknowns. Maybe like Brian’s saying here.

Jordan Wilson [00:20:49]:

Maybe some secrets got leaked. I don’t know. Yeah. Like, what Tanya said, maybe Altman was trying to rein in chat gbt. We have no clue. We have no clue. There are so many unknowns. Right? And normally, y’all, like, I have a journalism background.

Jordan Wilson [00:21:08]:

I used to report on big breaking news stories. Normally, you would have some finite details by now because every major news outlet in the entire world is working on this. There has been nothing definitive in terms of the reasons, in terms of the unknowns, which leads me to believe The actual reasoning for the firing, the actual reason for what’s happening now might be rubbish. Right. That’s for my my international audience. Might be rubbish. We don’t say rubbish here in the US, but, hey, we got people listening all over. Alright.

#3 – This Impacts The US Economy

Jordan Wilson [00:21:43]:

Let’s get into it. Let’s get into number 3. Let’s get into number 3. On 7 things you need to know, This is going to potentially have an adverse impact on the entire US economy. Alright. What do you mean, Jordan? OpenAI isn’t even a public company. How could this impact the economy? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe due to the fact over the last 2 years, if you take out Companies that are working in or around AI.

Jordan Wilson [00:22:18]:

If you take that out, our stock market here in the US is down. Right. But right now, it’s not. Right? Right now, it’s It’s not. The stock market, even though it might not feel like it even though it might not feel like it, The stock market has been relatively strong over the last 2 years. Right? Bringing up I’m bringing up the latest here so we can we can take a look. So over over the last 2 years, right, so, you know, pandemic was crazy, but, heck, even over the last year, If we’re looking at the S and P, the S and P, one of the major indexes here in the US, went from about 35, 36100 last October to now 45100. Alright? I’m not great at math, but that’s about a 25% increase in a year, which is huge.

Jordan Wilson [00:23:23]:

And guess what? Who’s leading these major indexes? Companies working in and around AI, specifically generative AI. And who’s leading that charge? OpenAI. Right? Right? You can say, oh, there’s other big companies. There are. There’s other big companies doing great things, that are really pushing the US economy forward. But I would say the number 1 is the company that’s not even public. It’s OpenAI. This GPT technology, You know, that was first, you know, kind of commercially released in, I think, 2020.

Jordan Wilson [00:24:02]:

That was the 1st ripple that is now The generative AI, this artificial intelligence wave that is really propelling the US economy. Don’t believe me? I come with facts. I always come with facts. That’s the difference between everyday AI and every other, You know, random person talking about AI on LinkedIn or, you know, these copy and paste AI written newsletters. They don’t care about double checking the facts. I dig in deep. I dig in deep. I didn’t I barely slept last night because I was researching this this episode so much.

Jordan Wilson [00:24:40]:

Let’s take a look. These are the top 5 companies in the in the world or in the US. Sorry. The top 5 companies in the US according to market cap. K. So that’s essentially what what they are worth. It’s a very overgeneralized way to say this. Okay.

Jordan Wilson [00:24:55]:

2 of the 5 here. So we have Apple, k. With nearly a $3,000,000,000,000 market cap, which is insane, you have Microsoft with, 2,800,000,000,000 market cap. You have Alphabet, which is Google’s parent company with a 1,700,000,000,000, Amazon, 1,500,000,000,000, and NVIDIA, 1,200,000,000,000. Guess what? 2 of those 5 companies get a good deal of business Because of, either from or because of OpenAI. So we’re talking about Microsoft, which has built its, new Copilot 3 65 platform. It’s built built its really future of the Windows operating system off of GPT from OpenAI. Right? More on that in a minute.

Jordan Wilson [00:25:43]:

And NVIDIA. Right? NVIDIA’s been, an indirect, beneficiary of, of everything OpenAI has kind of started to set off this this wave. Right? Because guess what? All of these companies now trying to build and compete with OpenAI and to build be the next OpenAI of blank, they’re all using NVIDIA’s chips. Right? So right there in the top 5 companies, you either have you have 2 of them Whose profit is is closely tied to. You know, it’s not dependent on, but closely tied to OpenAI. And then you have, the 3 other companies, Apple, Google, and Amazon who are literally making multibillion dollar investments To catch OpenAI. Alright? Now can you see how crazy this is? Because this doesn’t happen. This level of instability doesn’t happen in a company this important.

Jordan Wilson [00:26:46]:

Someone tell me. Hey. I’m not the oldest person in the room. I’m 30 how old am I? Oh, I’m 38. I just turned 38 a day or 2 ago. Right? Thank you for the happy birthday wishes, by the way, everyone. I appreciate that. If you wanna give me a birthday present, go go give us a review On Spotify and Apple.

Jordan Wilson [00:27:04]:

That would be great. We had a rash of 51 star reviews. People didn’t like that we were a top 7 podcast, Apparently. Anyways, all of these companies, whether directly or indirectly, are benefiting from OpenAI. And the fact that this is going on right now, it does mean a lot of instability For for the future of generative AI, but also kind of for the economy. Alright? Let’s keep it going. Let’s keep it going. And thank you.

#4 – OpenAI is at Great Risk

Jordan Wilson [00:27:37]:

Thank you everyone for for for joining live. What is your hot take? What do you think? What am I missing off my list so far? Seven things that you need to know about the Sam Altman OpenAI drama. Alright. So number 4, OpenAI is at great risk. My gosh. Right? So reportedly and there’s been many different, you know, reports on this and so many of, the employees are actually just ope it’s kinda like these code words, right, on on Twitter. They’re all saying the same statement or replying, or, you know, quote tweeting something with a heart, and that is supposed to be a symbol of, yes, I’m following, you know, Sam Altman, wherever he goes, or, hey. I’m gonna leave.

Jordan Wilson [00:28:21]:

You know, many of them signed an actual letter, but still, Reportedly more than 700 of OpenAI’s 770 employees. I’m sure it’s more by now in the last 40 minutes because I’m sure there’s new reports that have come out. But 700 of them have threatened to to leave OpenAI unless Sam Altman comes back. And guess what else? If Sam Altman and, Greg Brockman do end up going to Microsoft to lead this new AI research charm, which I think could in a way be kind of what DeepMind is to Google, if this does kind of pan out. But there isn’t an open invitation. I’d listen to, Sadia Nadella’s interviews that he gave yesterday. I think it was to CNBC, maybe Bloomberg. But he essentially said, open invitation to anyone from OpenAI to come work at Microsoft.

Jordan Wilson [00:29:17]:

More on that more on that in a second. Alright. So so why? Why is OpenAI actually at great risk? Aside from 95% Of its employees threatening to follow Sam Altman out of the door? Why? Money. Money. Right? And you have to say, well, why why would these employees leave? You know? Guessing most of them or many of them have stock options. They have equity in the company, and that’s why That’s why they’re threatening to leave. Right? Yes. You know, from from from most of the reporting, Sam Maultman was an inspiring leader Who cared about the people? He cared about the mission.

Jordan Wilson [00:30:08]:

Guess what else? Money. Y’all, if I’m an OpenAI employee I have stock options, you know, small sliver of equity, which is very, very normal in the, in the start up world, And Sam Altman gets fired? I’m I’m doing the same exact thing. I’m signing that pledge because guess what? That big juicy, you know, those stock options, that equity in the company, I don’t know, but that that that thing goes from dollars to dimes overnight when Sam Altman walks out the door. When there’s this level of instability at a company, Those stock options which, hey, for a lot of you know, those people working 70, 80, 90 hours that are in their twenties and thirties, they’re grinding because that is their That is their their egg. That is their retirement. That is their fortune. Right? And when Sam Altman walks out the door And there is that level of instability. The value of that goes down.

Jordan Wilson [00:31:15]:

Like I said, dollars to dimes Overnight. That is why investors are working nonstop behind the scenes to get Sam Altman back. Because like I said, I do think he is. Sure. There’s plenty of people that have other opinions, and I’m just going off of what I’ve read. He seems to be a generational leader, A generational talent. Yes. We can nitpick, you know, certain things, certain viewpoints he has, but regardless, anyone that has led a company from relative Obscurity to one of arguably, one of the most powerful companies on the planet in a matter of a couple of years, Generally generational leader.

Jordan Wilson [00:31:56]:

Right? Putting putting putting him in the same conversation as the, you know, the the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, the Mark Zuckerberg, regardless of your opinion on on them, he has automatically Assumed. Right? Assumed the the Mount Rushmore, you know, great tech leaders over the past many decades Just like that. So when he walks out the door, not just the company’s valuation, its customer base. Right. Everything is shook. Everything is shook. Yeah. What do you guys think? I like what Nadia says here.

Jordan Wilson [00:32:43]:

Talent is key for advanced tech, more important than money. Absolutely. Guess who built this tech that is now shaping our day to day lives, those 770 employees. Yes. OpenAI still controls the IP and the weights and all of those things, but it’s the people. It’s the institutional knowledge. It’s the know how that is potentially walking out the door. Alright.

#5 – The OpenAI Board is Inept

Jordan Wilson [00:33:15]:

Number 5. Oh, we’re getting spicier. Should I crank this up? Are we still on 1 to 2 flame emojis, Or should I should I really lay into it? I got 1 coming up here. This one. I don’t know how hard I should go on the OpenAI board, but number 5, The OpenAI board is inept. Yes. I chose my words widely or wisely there. Clumsy.

Jordan Wilson [00:33:45]:

You know, clumsy is a synonym for inept. I’m trying to be nice here. Right. Because I don’t know. I started the show off, but there’s so many unknowns. Who knows? Who knows? Maybe the board was very justified And firing Sam Altman on Friday out of nowhere right after Microsoft launches, you you know, its Ignite conference, and they talk about All these new integrations with GPT and Copilot Studio, and you can build all these great things on top of GPT. Microsoft is building a big part of their future with GPT as part of the process. I would have liked I would have loved to be in the room where it happened the room where it happened, but I wasn’t.

Jordan Wilson [00:34:29]:

Right? Very few people were. But I think it’s there’s very few people that will argue otherwise. Maybe, you know, people who are actually on the board and their family members That the that the board did a good job again. Maybe we’ll know more when it all comes out. But I will say right now, inaptitude is a very nice word. It’s a very nice word to say. Yes. Like what Val is saying here in the live stream.

Jordan Wilson [00:34:58]:

Thanks, Val. Sat he’s saying, sad to hear this, but a wake up call to the end user is to always have a plan b. Yes. What was yo. This is the board overseeing the company Openly working toward artificial general intelligence when the AI is smarter than us and the AI doesn’t need us, but The company working on AGI couldn’t see 24 hours into the future? Like, come on. When I saw the notification that Sam Altman was fired, I’m like, does the not understand how this works? I knew right away. There’s gonna be a large, you know, mutiny, so to speak. You know? I’m like, this is there is no way that this ends well without having a steady succession plan in place.

Jordan Wilson [00:35:54]:

When I saw the statement that they put out, if all you have in, quote, unquote, firing all you can publicly disclose. Right? Again, who knows what’s actually happening. If all you can say is that Sam Altman was not consistently candid enough in his conversation, And that is your official, quote, unquote, your official rationale for firing one of the most prominent and, you know, biggest rising stars In the US economy, arguably in decades, if that’s what you go with, enabt is a very nice word. A very nice word. Again, I don’t know everything. Obviously, the board knows more than the rest of us, but very smart people have had way harsher words, so I’m trying to be nice. I didn’t see many 3 flame emojis. I saw a couple ones.

Jordan Wilson [00:36:50]:

Jay said 5. That’s that that’s off my scale, Jay. Yeah. I don’t know. It could be an emotional firing. It could be. Time will tell. But why is the OpenAI board inept, Or why do I feel that way? This is my personal opinions.

Jordan Wilson [00:37:06]:

Right? This is not in a, quote, unquote, everyday AI official stance. This is my personal opinion. There’s a lot of reasons. You had to see this coming. You had to see that this could potentially Be catastrophic. You could have to see that this could potentially have long standing economic impact on the economy. How could you not? How can you be working on open AGI and not be able to see 2 hours into the future? There is no other way. There is no other way with this kind of rationale with how this went down Friday.

Jordan Wilson [00:37:45]:

There is zero other way that this could have played out. Right? If, like, if any of you are Marvel fans, right, there’s there’s the the scene in endgame where, you know, doctor Strange goes through the, you know, I don’t know, the 1,000,000,000 scenarios in his head and he says, this is the only way we win or whatever. Right? You can go through a 1,000,000,000 scenarios. This is the only way it plays out. Like, are you serious to fire? Sam Altman out of nowhere and give absolutely Zero concrete insights and to not even have a succession plan, not to have a backup plan, not to have, you know, essentially, PR, public relations, crisis crisis communication in line? No. Luckily luckily for luckily for OpenAI, Sadie and Adela came through. More on that in a second. Alright.

Jordan Wilson [00:38:40]:

Also, something to think about. Weird. Weird. What are the board members? Right. Which I’ve always thought it was weird that, Adam D’Angelo was On the board after they launch Poe. Let me get into that. So, Adam DeAngelo, I believe goes way back with Sam Altman, back to their, Y Combinator days, but, he’s the cofounder of Quora, which launched Poe.com. So Poe.com, essentially is a way to kind of build chatbots on top of existing models.

Jordan Wilson [00:39:19]:

Right? So you can use GPT and and build a chatbot inside of this platform, poe.com. If you haven’t used it, That’s actually a pretty pretty nice platform. However however, I’m just wondering out loud here. Why? Why was Adam still on the board? Especially when In late October here, so I’m sharing a screenshot that Adam announced on on Twitter where he said, today, we are launching creator monetization for PoE. This program lets any bot creator on PO generate revenue. This is the 1st major step forward for the platform and is the 1st program of its kind, so we are excited to see what It lets everyone create. When I saw that announcement from Poe about a month ago, I was like, oh, that’s interesting. So is he gonna step down from the board? Isn’t that in theory now a direct competitor? To OpenAI, yes.

Jordan Wilson [00:40:21]:

They’re technically a customer. Right? Because they’re tapping into their API, so they they they’re paying, but it’s also a direct competitor because you can use other models. Right. And then, obviously, we saw in, OpenAI’s dev day, about 2 2 weeks ago. OpenAI and Sam Altman introduced GPTs, which are kind of a version of what’s on the screen here. This creator monetization for Poe because they you know, a big step forward and something that I was, you know, personally pretty excited about was this GPT store. So, You know, if you don’t know what custom GPTs or GPTs are, you can go in right now if you have a ChatGPT plus account and build no code, a chatbot built on your knowledge base. You can do some basic training on it.

Jordan Wilson [00:41:11]:

So kind of exactly what is doing. So I’m not great at math, but I can put 2 and 2 together. Did this have something to do with Sam Altman’s firing? I don’t know. People smarter than me are saying absolutely. But it it begs the question, how was he still on the board? I’m sorry. He’s technically at that point, October 25th or November 7th when, you know, when Sam Altman, you know, unveiled GPTs and talked about the GPT store. At that point, those are competing products. I don’t know.

#6 – Satya Nadella is the GOAT

Jordan Wilson [00:41:56]:

I’m thinking out loud here. Seems like a direct conflict to me. But who am I? Who am I? I’m just a guy. Alright. Number 6. I know this has been a longer show. I’m gonna go I’m gonna go a little quick here to wrap this up. Number 6, Saudi Nadella is the GOAT.

Jordan Wilson [00:42:16]:

The greatest of all time. My gosh. What would have happened Without Sadie and Adela being in there to to mediate these conversations. Right? Presumably, we don’t know. He talked a little bit about it. But presumably, he’s he’s mediating this meeting between Sam Altman, between the current board, Interim c CEOs, probably investors. The fact that right? Because I I can see you making the other point. Oh, Jordan.

Jordan Wilson [00:42:45]:

It’s It’s a disaster. Yes. But look what happened to Microsoft. He’s a genius. Saudi Nadella is a genius. Right? Couple reasons. 1 on Monday, Microsoft stock jumped about 70 or or or their market cap jumped like $70,000,000,000. Right? Yesterday alone, pretty nice day.

Jordan Wilson [00:43:10]:

But here’s why I think he’s the GOAT. He’s, well, kind of a magician. When he Essentially said, hey. 700 plus OpenAI employees, door’s always open for you. Door is always open for you. I don’t I don’t know all the legalities, but I do know OpenAI, believe based in California. I think there’s no such thing as noncompetes in California. So presumably, in theory, If Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, the president of OpenAI, if they do go through and, you know, sign on with, Microsoft and create this new, kind of, sector.

Jordan Wilson [00:43:51]:

There’s a good good chance that hundreds of OpenAI employees could follow suit. Right? The fact that you could, You you know, I think I think they call that what do they call it? Acqui hire. Right? Like, an acquisition through hiring. The fact that if you could he if you could hire hundreds of OpenAI employees and not have to, quote, unquote, Acquire the company for I don’t know what they would be acquired for. 100 of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000, trillions. Who knows? That’s smart. My gosh. Microsoft and Satya Nadella came out of this mess as the big winners.

Jordan Wilson [00:44:36]:

Big, big winners. So he’s the GOAT. He’s the GOAT. Right? I like this Forbes Forbes article that said, Saudi Nadella and Microsoft are the biggest winners of the OpenAI meltdown for now. Yes. For now. Everything’s for now because like we talked about, number 1, the ink has not dried. The ink has rotten has not dried.

Jordan Wilson [00:44:58]:

And, y’all, there’s some there’s so much we didn’t even get to. Right? Like, hey. Going going back to the OpenAI board, reportedly, they were trying to hire people as CEO that weren’t maybe qualified. They reportedly try to merger or offer to merger option with Anthropic. Right? A direct competitor? Again, I don’t know who was pushing that. Maybe it wasn’t the board. Maybe it was someone else, but Come on. Come on.

#7 – OpenAI Downfall Could Be Catastrophic

Jordan Wilson [00:45:32]:

Regardless, Sadi and Antella, gets greatest of all time goat status after this. And last but not least, the 7 things you need to know. The OpenAI downfall could be catastrophic. It could be catastrophic. It could all be over today. It could all be over. Actually, who knows? It could be over by now. I’ve been on this live stream now for 45 minutes.

Jordan Wilson [00:45:59]:

Could it could already be over. Same who knows? Sam Altman could already be signed back. Things happen quickly. This has been, like I said, literally pinballing. It’s been hard. You get get, whiplash in your neck if you follow if you follow all these moves. It’s over here. It’s over there.

Jordan Wilson [00:46:15]:

It’s over here. It’s over there. Right? But OpenAI, regardless, could be at great risk. If this thing doesn’t get settled soon, if Sam Altman is not ultimately whether it’s today, tomorrow, next week, next month, If Sam Altman is not reinstated as CEO, and one of the big, holdups reportedly Is they want the current board to all resign? Would the current board do that? I don’t know. Is that the holdup? It could be. Maybe Sam Altman doesn’t truly wanna go back. Maybe he does. I don’t know.

Jordan Wilson [00:46:52]:

But OpenAI, regardless, is at great risk for a couple of reasons. Number 1, Their biggest competitors are having a field day. Imagine being in sales right now for, you know, anthropic, You know, their large language model or Google. Right? Imagine being in sales right now for one of these enterprise gen AI systems that has a large language model that is not relying on GPT. You’re making you’re making your yearly quota this morning in the first hour. Enterprise companies are looking to jump ship fast. Right. Again, man, imagine if Saudi and Adela wasn’t in this.

Jordan Wilson [00:47:37]:

I’m sure customers are dropping like flies. That’s That’s not me. I always bring the receipts. So article from the information here that I’m showing on screen. Already saying OpenAI’s customers consider defecting to and Anthropic Microsoft Google. Right? Field day. A field day for those companies. Right? That’s number 1.

Jordan Wilson [00:48:02]:

OpenAI potentially losing enterprise clients en masse. What’s more important than that, though? The people, y’all. The people. Will all 700 plus of those employees leave OpenAI? I don’t know. Do they just want to follow Sam Altman Wherever he goes because they believe in his vision, they believe in his leadership. Will they go to Microsoft? Maybe. Is this tied more to, You know, if, when, and if, and it’s time to cash in, you know, their their equity or their, shares that they get as early employees of OpenAI, that’s my gut. I always say follow the money.

Jordan Wilson [00:48:48]:

But who knows? I could be dead wrong. I could be dead wrong, but regardless, it is not a good day and it’s not a good week for OpenAI when you are potentially facing Losing enterprise customers in mass. When you are potentially losing 700 plus of your 770 employees. 90, 95%. Right? They have an open invitation from Microsoft. Salesforce CEO openly recruiting them saying, hey. Come come work on our, AI product Einstein. Right? They’re getting poached, And they are getting offers that are going to be hard to refuse.

Jordan Wilson [00:49:31]:

Matching equity, matching salaries, insane professional athletes sign on bonuses. I don’t know. It seems like to me unless Sam Altman is reinstated pretty soon and unless the board resigns pretty soon. Seems like there’s a good chance this maybe it’s not a catastrophic ending for OpenAI, But it’s it’s at risk. And, yes, this is one of the biggest blunders, I’d say, of a company this size. It’s gotta be up there. This has to be up there in the top 5 in recent memory. Biggest blunders a company has ever made.

Jordan Wilson [00:50:17]:

Right? Like, willingly or seemingly willingly. Right? Alright. Let’s recap it, and then I’m gonna tell you the biggest winners and losers. Here we go. The 7 things you need to know about Sam Altman leaving in the future of OpenAI. Here we go. Number 1, the ink has not dried. Nothing is finalized, at least as of this morning when I started the show.

Jordan Wilson [00:50:37]:

Number 2, there are more unknowns than knowns. Why was Sam Altman actually fired? Who actually knows? There’s so many question marks. Number 3, This impacts the entire economy. This is about way more than ChatGPT, way more than OpenAI. It is about all the Hundreds of companies that are even using the GPT technology. What happens to them? Number 4. Yeah. OpenAI is at great risk.

Jordan Wilson [00:51:03]:

Great risk. 700 plus. 700 plus of OpenAI employees have threatened to quit. 5, the OpenAI board. Yeah. They’re inept. Sorry. No succession plan.

Winners and Losers of the OpenAI situation

Jordan Wilson [00:51:16]:

You’re working on AGI, and you can’t even see 12 hours in Future. And then, Sadie Nadella is the GOAT. He’s the GOAT. If he could actually bring over Even a fraction of those 700 employees. That is an insane win for Microsoft. Alright. Let’s get to the big winners and losers. Let’s get to the big winners and losers.

Jordan Wilson [00:51:43]:

Here we go. We’re wrapping it up. Big winner, Microsoft. My gosh. Guess who else is the big winner? You wouldn’t think this. Sam Altman. Sam Altman is a big winner after getting fired from the company that he cofounded? Absolutely. Guess who has? An insane amount of leverage right now, Sam Altman.

Jordan Wilson [00:52:06]:

He can go work wherever he wants. He could create the world’s largest AI research team at Microsoft. You know? Like, Microsoft, I believe, has, like, 300,000 employees. They have way more resources right now than OpenAI does. He can do whatever he wants. He has all the leverage. Everyone’s wanting to follow him. Someone remind me of the last time someone got unceremoniously fired without real and concrete reasons at least given publicly and have this much leverage.

Jordan Wilson [00:52:40]:

My gosh. You wouldn’t think he is the big winner, But I’d say he is. Small winners, Amazon and Anthropic. Yeah. Huge winners. Huge winners. They’re gonna be scooping up enterprise customers if this doesn’t get wrapped up. Big day for those salespeople.

Jordan Wilson [00:53:03]:

Big day. Loser. It could go back and forth on this. Could, Google? Because in some ways, Google won. They can maybe bring on some, some new enterprise customers, but at the same time, Google’s number one kind of competitor is Microsoft. They compete with them across the board, and Microsoft was a huge winner. So Google took some Took some dubs, took some l’s, but I’m gonna say they kinda lost. Also, losers, OpenAI.

Jordan Wilson [00:53:33]:

And sorry. These aren’t actual losers. I’m just saying losers in the battle. Just gotta clear that up. Alright? So someone else who also lost. Open Eye OpenAI investors who are not named Microsoft, And that’s why they’re working furiously behind the scenes to get Sam Altman reinstated. Their investment is not gonna be looking too good If this doesn’t clear up for the better. Big loser, OpenAI.

Jordan Wilson [00:53:59]:

Not good. Not good. Hardly. As far as we know, at least what is publicly known, yes, there’s more unknown than knowns, but at least what we know right now, Looking really bad. It’s looking really bad for OpenAI. It’s looking bad. Hey. Another big loser, I guess, is technically, maybe us.

Jordan Wilson [00:54:21]:

Right? Hopefully, this is all salvaged, but I don’t know about y’all. ChatGPT is an integral part of my workflow even for me personally. So hey. I’m a big loser in this if this doesn’t get sorted out. And maybe the biggest loser in all of this is the OpenAI board. I’ve yet to see anyone or very few people, I should say. And I’ve read probably over the course of 4 to 5 days like the rest of you, probably more than a1000 Different tweets, you know, from very well known people. Right? These aren’t just randos on the Internet.

Jordan Wilson [00:54:58]:

And I would say very easily, 9 out of 10 are just crushing the OpenAI board. Right. Crushing them. I’m trying to be nice. I’m trying to be nice and civil by saying they’ve been inept. That’s it, y’all. That’s it. Those are the 7 things that you need to know about Sam Altman getting fired from OpenAI and what it means What it means for the future of of the GPG technology, what it means for the future of generative AI, what it even means for the immediate future of the US economy.

Jordan Wilson [00:55:42]:

They gotta get this sorted out. They gotta get it sorted out. Alright. I hope you all had fun today. As always, make sure to go to your everyday AI .com. Sign up for the free daily newsletter. There might be 1 or 2 other hot takes in there that I sneak in that I didn’t get to on today’s show. So please, Thank you for joining us.

Jordan Wilson [00:56:04]:

Make sure to go to your everyday AI .com. Sign up for the free daily newsletter, and we hope to see you back tomorrow and every day For more everyday AI. Thanks, y’all.

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Ep 149: Sam Altman leaving and the future of OpenAI – 7 things you need to know