OpenAI, the company that founded ChatGPT a year ago, announced the resignation of CEO Sam Altman on Friday, saying he no longer has confidence in his ability to lead the Microsoft-backed company.
Altman’s surprise departure “follows a thoughtful review process by the board of directors, which concluded that he was not consistently forthright in his communications with the board of directors, calling into question his ability to discharge his responsibilities,” the company said in a statement.
The resignation comes after Sam Altman took part in a conference with representatives from Google and Meta on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (Apec), in San Francisco, California.
OpenAI’s board of directors assured in a statement that the company is structured to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits all humanity.
“The board remains fully committed to fulfilling this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. But we believe new leadership is needed as we move forward.”
OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati, will take on the role of interim CEO until a new effective executive director is in place.
Despite their success, ChatGPT and other platforms that can produce text, images and sounds are raising concerns about the risks they may pose to democracy, such as mass disinformation, or to the labor market.
Artists, programmers and writers (including George RR Martin, author of the books that spawned the “Game of Thrones” series) took legal action against OpenAI and other competitors of the California startup, accusing them of using their works in these platforms without respecting copyright, without permission or payment.
Source: DN
