Microsoft announced on Monday that it has hired Sam Altman, the co-founder and former leader of OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT artificial intelligence platform, whose abrupt dismissal caused shock in the tech world. Shortly after this announcement, former Twitch boss Emmett Shear indicated that he agreed to take charge, on an interim basis, of OpenAI. Altman was fired from OpenAI last Friday.
Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, both co-founders of OpenAI, will join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team, according to the computer giant’s CEO, Satya Nadella. “The mission continues,” Altman, who at 38 years old is considered one of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley, wrote in X. “We remain committed to our agreement with OpenAI and we are confident in the planned roadmap for our product,” Nadella added.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and integrated this technology into its own products, such as the Bing search engine. In a statement issued last Friday, the board of directors of OpenAI, the company that created the powerful ChatGPT, announced significant changes to its leadership late Friday with the departure of Sam Altman as CEO. Mira Murati, the company’s current chief technology officer, was appointed director interim executive to lead the artificial intelligence organization.
Murati has been part of OpenAI’s leadership team for five years and is highlighted by the company for her crucial role in the rise of the company as a world leader in artificial intelligence. Shear indicated that he made his decision “in a few hours” and plans to open an independent investigation in the next 30 days to shed light on Altman’s firing. The board of directors of OpenAI surprised on Friday by announcing the dismissal with immediate effect of Altman, following the “deliberative review by the board (of directors), which concluded that he was not always truthful in his communication with the board, which hindered their ability to carry out their responsibilities.
Since the first version of ChatGPT came out on November 30, 2022, millions of people have used it. Its appearance accelerated the race for artificial intelligence, which faces giants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta. Elon Musk joked, in a response to Nadella: “Now they will have to use Teams!”
On the other hand, they also provided the reasons that led to the decision to fire Altman, a decision that, they say, was made after an exhaustive review by the board of directors. This announcement was made following an abrupt dismissal from OpenAI, and Microsoft’s announcement came shortly after. Former OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman will be leading a new advanced AI research team within Microsoft. These changes follow a sudden dismissal of Altman by the OpenAI board, who cited Altman’s lack of truthfulness in his communication with the board as the reason for his dismissal. Emmett Shear, who was appointed as interim leader of OpenAI, plans to open an independent investigation into Altman’s firing. These changes come as OpenAI’s powerful ChatGPT platform has gained significant popularity and Microsoft has heavily invested in integrating the technology into its own products.