# Why in the world would you fire the face of AI?

By [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin) · 2023-11-19

---

![Sam Altman, the literal face of OpenAI and AI as we know it today, just got fired by his own company.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/2bb304c448b0d8da722ea1a4a0fe49c43d38a8895c1e5b313902dca2c936b10c.webp)

Sam Altman, the literal face of OpenAI and AI as we know it today, just got fired by his own company.

Sam Altman is now Sam Outman.

Sam Altman, the face of OpenAI, has been fired from OpenAI.

This is a Netflix special in the making.

A Silicon Valley soap opera.

Sam got fired unceremoniously, abruptly and hastily, over a google meet call.

And everyone is hollering why?

The board cited a lack of candor in his communications, a reason that sounds more like a plot point than a legitimate cause for dismissal.

Seriously, what is the board thinking?

![Ah where will we be without the lovely denizens of the internet and its fine conspiracies!](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/37e1bb8093cdbbca06cb6e8626c5e8f6ffab0f3fc0c2e7f7ce0d73fe1aa25a5f.webp)

Ah where will we be without the lovely denizens of the internet and its fine conspiracies!

The whole world is abuzz with speculation and hot takes.

Everyone has an opinion, but no one has seemed to have uncovered the truth so far.

Conspiracy theories are brewing, and people are CSI-ing from Tweets and broken pieces of news.

Sam’s ascent mirrored OpenAI’s — rapid, meteoric, and almost too good to be true.

From a valuation of zero to a whopping $90 billion, OpenAI’s journey has been nothing short of spectacular, reminiscent of giants like Google or Amazon.

They didn’t just ride the AI wave, they literally kickstarted the damn wave.

You can’t spell AI without OpenAI.

![Seems like it was so sudden and abrupt, even Greg was blindsided.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b1a8d329c0d03eb8f9896b1dfc98582ef268d0dd797936bf30ac214287aec979.webp)

Seems like it was so sudden and abrupt, even Greg was blindsided.

One possible theory?

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder.

His vision of AI, one that empathizes with humans like we do with our own children, starkly contrasts with the company’s recent profit-driven trajectory.

This philosophical divide might just be the key to understanding the board’s drastic decision.

The firing of Altman is reminiscent of Steve Jobs’ infamous ouster from Apple in 1985.

But unlike Jobs, Altman held no equity in OpenAI’s for-profit arm, adding another layer of irony to this saga.

![The memes won’t stop coming.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/76755c6e888900499fede1eeb4fa37a5a005d3c2f75e490a70caecdeb655bb78.webp)

The memes won’t stop coming.

OpenAI’s transformation from a non-profit entity to a profit-chasing behemoth may have been the final straw, prompting the board to act.

But what has it got to do with Sam’s lack of candor?

Was he hiding something?

Was he deliberately evasive, misleading the board, sleight of hand tricks?

What could have been so severe and irreversible to force the board into such a drastic action?

The aftermath?

Co-founder Greg Brockman steps down, while Chief Researcher Ilya Sutskeyver’s concerns about safety and development pace come to the fore.

The board’s decision reflects a growing divide within the AI community — the race for advancement versus the call for caution.

The fallout from this decision is already tremoring throughout the AI industry.

![Maybe Sam and Greg can now start an OpenAI competitor for real or even join Elon with Grok?](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/04c4d59109b3066aa320be80224eaaf24c28ac570ee0517cfc1add776dec55f7.webp)

Maybe Sam and Greg can now start an OpenAI competitor for real or even join Elon with Grok?

Startups building on OpenAI’s technology are left uncertain about their future, reflecting the profound impact of this leadership shakeup.

Do you have any idea how many startups, businesses, entities, stakeholders, customers and everyday users are dependent on OpenAI?

As for Sam and Greg, this isn’t an end, but perhaps a new beginning in the ever-evolving story of AI.

The future beckons with potential new ventures, possibly even backed by heavyweights like Masayoshi Son.

Everyone and their mother would be clamoring for them.

Their next steps could redefine the AI landscape yet again.

What a crazy world we live in now eh.

![Sam the man literally just came off the backs of a very successful and well-received OpenAI devday. Everyone loved it, turns out the Board didn't.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b72ccd39435a6231e25c8868699f852b06c6570d67278521aeffdecb75ee4cdd.webp)

Sam the man literally just came off the backs of a very successful and well-received OpenAI devday. Everyone loved it, turns out the Board didn't.

The abruptness, the lack of transparency, and the whirlwind of speculation only add to the intrigue.

And now, the entire OpenAI team is forcing the board to resign, reinstate Sam and Greg, or they will walk out en mass.

Drama to the max.

Points to remember:

Don’t fire CEO (or anyone important) if there isn’t a good reason to.

Even a $90B company backed by Microsoft is using Google products internally.

The Board can and will fire the CEO, but the fallout can be massive.

The collective team is ultimately more powerful than the entire Board (especially if they made a bad decision).

Don’t accept last minute Google Meet invites.

\-

Was it right to fire Sam Altman?

\-

#SamAltman #OpenAI #AIIndustry #TechDrama #CorporateUpheaval #ArtificialIntelligence #TechLeadership #AIethics #TechInnovation #SiliconValley #BoardroomBattles #AIphilosophy #TechGiants #AIdevelopment #TechFuture

---

*Originally published on [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/why-in-the-world-would-you-fire-the-face-of-ai)*
