Sam Altman Out as OpenAI’s CEO, But Set to Return?

Over the weekend, Sam Altman was surprisingly removed from his position as CEO at OpenAI, the AI company behind the ChatGPT and Dall-E products. The firing came as a sudden shock, with many wondering what the reasoning behind the decision was for. Following the announcement, OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman also quit, expressing his frustration at Altman’s removal. 

i loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people.

will have more to say about what’s next later.

🫡

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 17, 2023

In the wake of his firing, Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, was named interim CEO. However, there has been some speculation that Altman will be returning soon after he posted an image of himself wearing a guest pass and saying “first and last time i ever wear one of these” on Twitter. 

Elon Musk shared his opinion on the matter over Twitter as well, claiming that “the public should be informed of why the board felt they had to take such drastic action” because of “the risk and power of advanced AI.” Musk, who has built Tesla around AI, has claimed for many years that AI poses many risks and Altman’s firing seems to be reigniting them.