Sam Altman completes his return to OpenAI with his return to the board.
The first executive and co-founder of the firm that has popularized artificial intelligence with its ChatGPT returns to the board of directors.
Initially, after his surprising and lightning-fast dismissal on November 17, he had already returned to being the head of the company due to the pressure of the employees on the previous council.
However, he had been sidelined from the highest governing body pending an independent investigation hired by a council commission to shed light on the reasons for his dismissal.
The conclusion of that report is that there was a mutual breakdown of trust between the former council and Altman, but that Altman's conduct did not require his removal.
“Following the recommendation of the special commission, the board expressed its full confidence in the current leadership of OpenAI by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman,” who was then president, the firm said in a statement.
“We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” said Bret Taylor, chairman of the board.
The investigation was commissioned in December by the firm WilmerHale, which reviewed more than 30,000 documents, conducted dozens of interviews (including members of the former OpenAI Board, OpenAI executives, advisors to the former board and other witnesses) and evaluated various corporate actions before to present its report, which OpenAI has not made public.
Investigators reviewed the public statement about the dismissal issued by the previous council and concluded that the statement accurately reflected the reason for the decision, the aforementioned loss of trust.
“WilmerHale concluded that the previous board believed at the time that its actions would mitigate internal management challenges and did not foresee that its actions would destabilize the company,” says the OpenAI statement published this Friday.
The report also addresses speculation surrounding the termination: “The previous council's decision did not arise from concerns regarding the safety or security of the product, the pace of development, OpenAI's finances, or its statements to investors, clients or business partners,” he maintains, according to the information released by the company.
The OpenAI statement also suggests that the report concludes that the previous council was hasty in its decision.
“He implemented his decision in an abbreviated time frame, without advance notice to key stakeholders and without a full investigation or an opportunity for Mr. Altman to address the previous council's concerns.”
Still, WilmerHale determined that the board acted within its broad discretion to fire Mr. Altman, but “also determined that his conduct did not warrant dismissal.”
After reviewing the report, the OpenAI task force that commissioned it recommended to the full board that it support the November 21 decision to rehire Sam Altman and Greg Brockman (then president), who were fired at the same time.
Three new advisors
With that page closed, the OpenAI board has decided to appoint new directors and address corporate governance improvements that it has not detailed precisely.
The company talks in its statement about a new set of guidelines and strengthening the conflict of interest policy (Altman has several businesses and initiatives in parallel with the company).
It has also announced the creation of an anonymous whistleblowing hotline for all OpenAI employees and contractors.
Additionally, new council commissions are created, including a Mission and Strategy commission, focused on the implementation and advancement of OpenAI's core mission.
In addition to Altman's return, the council has decided to appoint three new members.
There are three women, which make up for the fact that until now there were only three men (Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers and Bret Taylor).
The new directors are Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, director of Pfizer and member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology;
Nicole Seligman, former vice president of Sony and former president of Sony Entertainment, and director of Paramount Global, Meira GTx and Intuitive Machines, and Fidji Simo, president and CEO of Instacart and director of Shopify.
The council therefore now has seven members, with greater experience and preparation than the previous one, which had suffered significant losses.
In addition, it has a Microsoft representative as an observer.
“As Board Chair, I am delighted to welcome Sue, Nicole and Fidji to the OpenAI Board of Directors.
“His experience and leadership will allow the board to oversee the growth of OpenAI and ensure that we pursue OpenAI's mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity,” Taylor said in a statement.
“We recognize the magnitude of our role in stewarding transformative technologies for global good,” she added.
OpenAI and Sam Altman have recently been sued by Elon Musk, who alleges precisely that the firm has deviated from its original purpose of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humanity and has become commoditized.
The firm has recently closed an operation that values it at around $86 billion.
Financial interests played a key role in Sam Altman's return after his dismissal.
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