LETTER AND TWITTER POSTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
“We believe that a significant number of OpenAI employees were pushed out of the company to facilitate its transition to a for-profit model. This is evidenced by the fact that OpenAI’s employee attrition rate between January 2018 and July 2020 was in the order of 50%.”
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DAILY MAIL. Disgruntled OpenAI workers who left BEFORE Sam Altman’s brief ouster claim they were ‘pushed out’ to transition it to a for-profit model.
A letter allegedly written by former OpenAI employees details ‘dishonest’ and ‘manipulative’ leadership by Altman and president Greg Brockman.
The letter coincides with Altman’s reinstatement to the company five days after his shock ousting.
A letter allegedly written by former employees of OpenAI claims that Sam Altman and his co-founder Greg Brockman created a hostile work environment that drove employees out of the company as it moved toward a for-profit model.
The letter, signed only by ‘concerned former OpenAI employees,’ was posted to X by Elon Musk, who famously had a fallout with Altman several years ago about the leadership of the firm.
‘These seem like concerns worth investigating,’ wrote the Tesla mogul.
The letter, dated November 21, 2023, alleges that Altman and Brockman created a hostile work environment at OpenAI that they are asking the new board to investigate.
Specifically, they argue that ‘a significant number of OpenAI employees were pushed out of the company to facilitate its transition to a for-profit model.’
‘Their methods, however, have raised serious doubts about their true intentions and the extent to which they genuinely prioritize the benefit of humanity,’ it reads.
Claims of ‘Sam and Greg’s dishonesty and manipulation’ as spelled out in the letter, include:
Commands that came from Sam that later resulted in the firing of employees who listened to him, and Greg failing to use the appropriate language around a ‘gender-transitioning team member.’
The letter also accuses employees who remain at OpenAI for ‘blindly’ following Altman and Brockman’s leadership, ‘even at significant personal cost.’
‘This unwavering loyalty stems from a combination of fear of retribution and the allure of potential financial gains through OpenAI’s profit participation units.’
Notably, when Altman was ousted last weekend, some 700 of the company’s employees threatened to quit and follow their leader to Microsoft, where he was headed at the time.
The letter of unknown origin ends by asking the newly appointed Board of Directors to ‘take a firm stand against these unethical practices and launch an independent investigation into Sam and Greg’s conduct.’
‘The future of artificial intelligence and the well-being of humanity depend on your unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and transparency.’
Just five days after his shocking ouster, Altman made a stunning return on November 21st – the same day as the letter is dated – as CEO of OpenAI.
‘I love OpenAI and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together,’ Altman said in a post on X early Wednesday morning.
He thanked Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella for helping to make the stunning reversal happen.
‘When i decided to join [Microsoft] on Sunday evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with [Microsoft].’
In a statement of his own, Nadella credited the changes to the board in getting Altman back to OpenAI.
‘We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,’ he wrote. ‘We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.’
Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission.
‘We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.’
OpenAI posted its own statement on X to confirm the announcement.
‘We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,’ they wrote.
‘We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.’
By Monday evening 747 out of 770 of the company’s employees had threatened to quit and join Microsoft if Altman, 38, was not reinstated.
In an internal memo written by Vice President of Global Affairs Anna Makanju and seen by Bloomberg, employees were told on Monday that management was in touch with Altman, the new CEP Emmett Shear and the board ‘but they are not prepared to give us a final response this evening’.
Altman was pulled as CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI over fears he was flouting the dangers of artificial intelligence, a report revealed.
The concerns, aired by a fellow OpenAI board member, culminated with the 38-year-old’s sudden firing Friday – sending the tech world into frenzy, and a storm of speculation.
Founded by Altman and ten others in 2015, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT a year ago – and its ability to mimic human writing has proved polarizing ever since.
Aside from sparking worry amongst the public, this uncertainty was apparently also felt within OpenAI’s six-person board.
Elon Musk founded OpenAI with Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, but in 2018 the billionaire attempted to take control of the start-up.
His request was rejected, forcing him to quit OpenAI and move on with his other projects.
Musk has since attacked the company and says the AI is ‘woke’ and deviates from OpenAI’s original non-profit mission.
‘OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft,’ Musk tweeted in February.
He even signed a letter calling for a pause on the ‘dangerous race’ to develop AI, which they fear poses a ‘profound risk to society and humanity’ and could have ‘catastrophic’ effects
OpenAI, meanwhile, released ChatGPT last November – and the technology has since taken off.
While many remain skeptical – or outright incensed – over the new tool, OpenAI execs have expressed confidence in its future, saying they both ‘believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems.’
More recently, Microsoft provided OpenAI Global LLC with a $10 billion investment, on top of another $1 billion given to the firm in 2019.
This letter about OpenAI was just sent to me.
These seem like concerns worth investigating.https://t.co/hnAepyfLE6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2023
Sharing these because the link now gives a 404 – thanks @pitdesi for them! pic.twitter.com/82hgVqPgrf
— Ajay Juneja (@ajayjuneja) November 22, 2023
Grok read it so you don’t have to: pic.twitter.com/vkvsYcAmTm
— greg (@greg16676935420) November 21, 2023
Link is broken, I copy and pasted most of the letter here:https://t.co/5DiEhQ8XHP
— AI Notkilleveryoneism Memes ⏸️ (@AISafetyMemes) November 21, 2023
This text came from https://board.net/p/r.e6a8f6578787a4cc67d4dc438c6d236e but that has fallen over.
This is an archive for readability’s sake.
11/21/2023
To the Board of Directors of OpenAI:
We are writing to you today to express our deep concern about the recent events at OpenAI, particularly the allegations of misconduct against Sam Altman.
We are former OpenAI employees who left the company during a period of significant turmoil and upheaval. As you have now witnessed what happens when you dare stand up to Sam Altman, perhaps you can understand why so many of us have remained silent for fear of repercussions. We can no longer stand by silent.
We believe that the Board of Directors has a duty to investigate these allegations thoroughly and take appropriate action. We urge you to:
Expand the scope of Emmett’s investigation to include an examination of Sam Altman’s actions since August 2018, when OpenAI began transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.
Issue an open call for private statements from former OpenAI employees who resigned, were placed on medical leave, or were terminated during this period.
Protect the identities of those who come forward to ensure that they are not subjected to retaliation or other forms of harm.
We believe that a significant number of OpenAI employees were pushed out of the company to facilitate its transition to a for-profit model. This is evidenced by the fact that OpenAI’s employee attrition rate between January 2018 and July 2020 was in the order of 50%.
Throughout our time at OpenAI, we witnessed a disturbing pattern of deceit and manipulation by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, driven by their insatiable pursuit of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). Their methods, however, have raised serious doubts about their true intentions and the extent to which they genuinely prioritize the benefit of all humanity.
Many of us, initially hopeful about OpenAI’s mission, chose to give Sam and Greg the benefit of the doubt. However, as their actions became increasingly concerning, those who dared to voice their concerns were silenced or pushed out. This systematic silencing of dissent created an environment of fear and intimidation, effectively stifling any meaningful discussion about the ethical implications of OpenAI’s work.
We provide concrete examples of Sam and Greg’s dishonesty & manipulation including:
Sam’s demand for researchers to delay reporting progress on specific “secret” research initiatives, which were later dismantled for failing to deliver sufficient results quickly enough. Those who questioned this practice were dismissed as “bad culture fits” and even terminated, some just before Thanksgiving 2019.
Greg’s use of discriminatory language against a gender-transitioning team member. Despite many promises to address this issue, no meaningful action was taken, except for Greg simply avoiding all communication with the affected individual, effectively creating a hostile work environment. This team member was eventually terminated for alleged under-performance.
Sam directing IT and Operations staff to conduct investigations into employees, including Ilya, without the knowledge or consent of management.
Sam’s discreet, yet routine exploitation of OpenAI’s non-profit resources to advance his personal goals, particularly motivated by his grudge against Elon following their falling out.
The Operations team’s tacit acceptance of the special rules that applied to Greg, navigating intricate requirements to avoid being blacklisted.
Brad Lightcap’s unfulfilled promise to make public the documents detailing OpenAI’s capped-profit structure and the profit cap for each investor.
Sam’s incongruent promises to research projects for compute quotas, causing internal distrust and infighting.
Despite the mounting evidence of Sam and Greg’s transgressions, those who remain at OpenAI continue to blindly follow their leadership, even at significant personal cost. This unwavering loyalty stems from a combination of fear of retribution and the allure of potential financial gains through OpenAI’s profit participation units.
The governance structure of OpenAI, specifically designed by Sam and Greg, deliberately isolates employees from overseeing the for-profit operations, precisely due to their inherent conflicts of interest. This opaque structure enables Sam and Greg to operate with impunity, shielded from accountability.
We urge the Board of Directors of OpenAI to take a firm stand against these unethical practices and launch an independent investigation into Sam and Greg’s conduct. We believe that OpenAI’s mission is too important to be compromised by the personal agendas of a few individuals.
We implore you, the Board of Directors, to remain steadfast in your commitment to OpenAI’s original mission and not succumb to the pressures of profit-driven interests. The future of artificial intelligence and the well-being of humanity depend on your unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and transparency.
Sincerely,
Concerned Former OpenAI Employees
Contact
We encourage former OpenAI employees to contact us at formerly_openai@mail2tor.com. We personally guarantee everyone’s anonymity in any internal deliberations and public communications.