ChatGPT

[Cristiano]

505 OpenAI employees threaten to quit after Altman fired and his successor was replaced | CNN Business

 

[Cristiano]

I like Microsoft, but I feel the move is weird, probably mostly defensive. I think Microsoft ultimately does not really care about AI and the minefield of potential liability, they just want to encourage its use of Azure, because its extremely respurce intensive.

If Apple or Amazon or Google snatched up Altman, then they would lose that sweet OpenAI deal.

I am not sure about Microsoft not caring about AI. They seem to be investing heavily in it, and are integrating it more deeply into Windows. I actually find Copilot pretty useful and having it pop open on the side of what I am doing is nice.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I like Microsoft, but I feel the move is weird, probably mostly defensive. I think Microsoft ultimately does not really care about AI and the minefield of potential liability, they just want to encourage its use of Azure, because its extremely respurce intensive.

To have some insight about how much tech companies do "care" about the consequences of AI, here's a pretty nice and complete overview where tech companies are explaining why they feel that they don't have to pay licensing fees for picture created by text to image AIs.

Meta: copyright holders wouldn't get much money anyway
Google: AI training is just like reading a book
Microsoft: changing copyright law could hurt small AI developers
Anthropic: the law is fine, don't vhange it
Adobe: It's fair use, like when Accolade copied Sega's code
Hugging face: It's fair use
Stability AI: Other countries call it fair use

AI companies have all kinds of arguments against paying for copyrighted content

Most argue training with copyrighted data is fair use.

www.theverge.com

 

[Noodles]

I am not sure about Microsoft not caring about AI. They seem to be investing heavily in it, and are integrating it more deeply into Windows. I actually find Copilot pretty useful and having it pop open on the side of what I am doing is nice.

Yeah, whoch encourages it's use. I am not sure they necesarily wanted to be the actualngate keepers and owners of it at this point. Investing in another company is one thing, being that other is another. I am sure it was maybe on some long term plan, but not necesarily so much right now.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Microsoft cut 10,000 employees last January, and another couple hundred just this past summer. Sure they snatched up Altman quick enough but did they really extend job offers to 500 of his friends? I'm a little skeptical about that.

If I was one of the hundreds of MS employees that got axed a few months ago I'd be livid.

It's actually very normal for companies to be hiring in some departments while cutting others deeply. Many lay offs are more about moving resources to where they think they will be more profitable than just reducing the workforce in general. My company has laid off thousands while also having open positions on a couple occasions....

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

For Microsoft it is a bargain, and in the long terms much cheaper than to finance OpenAI. On top of that they can now steer this whole thing directly. What's not to love about that from a Microsoftian perspective?

The investors certainly seem to agree with you:

Microsoft stock reaches record high after hiring Sam Altman

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Of course they do; OpenAI has at the moment a market value of around 80 bn $ as non profit charity. So buying this as a whole entity would be quite hefty right now, or at least getting a majority stake.

Compared to that just hiring most of the employees who created ChatGPT instead for a new subsidiary is absolutely peanuts. As added bonus you are pushing your biggest competitor in that area, OpenAI, back quite heavily as well because of the brain drain. So win-win for Microsoft.

By the way the letter signed by the employees has been leaked, here it is:

 

[Free]

Looks like we've definitively reached a "board fucked up" outcome.

95% of OpenAI employees have threatened to quit in standoff with board

OpenAI’s future hangs in the balance as staff says they’ll join former CEO at Microsoft.

arstechnica.com

People with direct knowledge of the matter said that by the end of Monday, 747 out of 770 OpenAI employees had signed a letter threatening to quit and join Microsoft if the board refused to resign and reverse their decision on Friday to sack Altman.

Venture capitalists backing the generative artificial intelligence start-up were also exploring legal measures to force the board to reverse course, according to multiple people with knowledge of their thinking.

 

[Free]

Soon.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Sam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO

OpenAI on Wednesday said it reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, capping a marathon discussion about the future of the startup at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.

www.reuters.com

Welp, looks like THAT whole thing was just a colossal waste of everyone's freaking time lol

Executive summary: everyone that OpenAI fans have wildly speculated was "responsible" for the "coup", is staying. But, both of the female members of the board are getting kicked out; and Altman is bringing in another billionaire techbro friend to take one of their seats.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

SEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Some Microsoft employees fume over the company's open offer to hire hundreds of OpenAI staff

Current employees point to layoffs and a salary freeze this year at Microsoft and wonder why it's promising to match the pay of OpenAI staff.

www.businessinsider.com

When Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said the company would hire hundreds of OpenAI employees and match their current compensation, some Microsoft workers were furious.

"How many loyal employees who stayed at Microsoft while working 12+ hours daily and living in constant fear of being laid off all year?Now here comes OpenAI," one employee told Business Insider. "We worked even harder when we were told there's no budget to hire more people. 14-hour days?"

------

Another Microsoft employee said the company has been on a strict hiring freeze with rare exceptions, so the OpenAI offer makes it feel like there are "different classes of employees." Microsoft declined to comment.

Not all Microsoft employees are unhappy about the situation, though. Some believe that the new OpenAI unit could be good for employees, especially if Microsoft's stock rises. That's a big part of compensation at the company.

The new AI unit may not happen, if OpenAI agreed to take back Altman.*** However, the damage to morale among some Microsoft employees has already been done.

*** Spoiler - see previous post for how that turned out

 

[Noodles]

SEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Some Microsoft employees fume over the company's open offer to hire hundreds of OpenAI staff

Current employees point to layoffs and a salary freeze this year at Microsoft and wonder why it's promising to match the pay of OpenAI staff.

www.businessinsider.com

"How many loyal employees who stayed at Microsoft while working 12+ hours daily and living in constant fear of being laid off all year?Now here comes OpenAI," one employee told Business Insider. "We worked even harder when we were told there's no budget to hire more people. 14-hour days?"

I don't think this is quite what people were thinking with the phrase, "AI is going to take our jobs."

 

[Free]

All is back to normal at OpenAI...

*cough*

Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI

What a wild five days.

www.theverge.com

Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI, overcoming an attempted boardroom coup that sent the company into chaos over the past several days. Former president Greg Brockman, who quit in protest of Altman’s firing, will return as well.

The company said in a statement late Tuesday that it has an “agreement in principle” for Altman to return alongside a new board composed of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. D’Angelo is a holdover from the previous board that initially fired Altman on Friday. He remains on this new board to give the previous board some representation, we’re told.

People familiar with the negotiations say that the main job of this small initial board is to vet and appoint an expanded board of up to nine people that will reset the governance of OpenAI. Microsoft, which has committed to investing billions in the company, wants to have a seat on that expanded board, as does Altman himself. During a press tour this week, CEO Satya Nadella said the company didn’t want any more “surprises.”

Now I guess Microsoft has some bruising to medicate.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Sam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO

OpenAI on Wednesday said it reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, capping a marathon discussion about the future of the startup at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.

www.reuters.com

Welp, looks like THAT whole thing was just a colossal waste of everyone's freaking time lol

Executive summary: everyone that OpenAI fans have wildly speculated was "responsible" for the "coup", is staying. But, both of the female members of the board are getting kicked out; and Altman is bringing in another billionaire techbro friend to take one of their seats.

Of course, that's what lady leadership is for! to take the fall when something goes wrong. Note my heavy sarcasm but it's kind of true in many cases.

SEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Some Microsoft employees fume over the company's open offer to hire hundreds of OpenAI staff

Current employees point to layoffs and a salary freeze this year at Microsoft and wonder why it's promising to match the pay of OpenAI staff.

www.businessinsider.com

When Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said the company would hire hundreds of OpenAI employees and match their current compensation, some Microsoft workers were furious.

"How many loyal employees who stayed at Microsoft while working 12+ hours daily and living in constant fear of being laid off all year?Now here comes OpenAI," one employee told Business Insider. "We worked even harder when we were told there's no budget to hire more people. 14-hour days?"

------

Another Microsoft employee said the company has been on a strict hiring freeze with rare exceptions, so the OpenAI offer makes it feel like there are "different classes of employees." Microsoft declined to comment.

Not all Microsoft employees are unhappy about the situation, though. Some believe that the new OpenAI unit could be good for employees, especially if Microsoft's stock rises. That's a big part of compensation at the company.

The new AI unit may not happen, if OpenAI agreed to take back Altman.*** However, the damage to morale among some Microsoft employees has already been done.

*** Spoiler - see previous post for how that turned out

I never doubted they'd be livid, I was just saying, companies do shit like that ALL THE TIME. Layoffs are usually not for survival, they are for "right sizing" the different departments.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

All is back to normal at OpenAI...

*cough*

Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI

What a wild five days.

www.theverge.com

Now I guess Microsoft has some bruising to medicate.

My guess is that OpenAI's days of being a non-profit are over.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Still salty AF about them calling these jumped up markov-chain bots "AI".

 

[Free]

Still salty AF about them calling these jumped up markov-chain bots "AI".

Hey, I'm still smarting over the abbreviation of e-mail to email. We have to take a breath, learn to accept the language heresies and move on.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

If I ever invent a time machine I will it to popularize "grf" and prevent the gif wars from laying waste to techdom.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Hey, I'm still smarting over the abbreviation of e-mail to email. We have to take a breath, learn to accept the language heresies and move on.

This isn't like "hacker" or "email".

Spelling it "email" doesn't lead to Google employees going crazy and claiming their spicy autocomplete software is self-aware and quitting their job on moral grounds.

Calling them "AI" leads people to think they're actually electronic people, with agency and self-awareness and an ability to model the world and their place in it.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

My guess is that OpenAI's days of being a non-profit are over.

Evil has won; just as investors wanted to see! I think it was pretty clear this was how it was going to happen one way or the other. Either the personal were going to make AI's for profit at Microsoft or OpenAI was going to become for profit.