Start-up OpenAI, which launched bot ChatGPT, a form of generative artificial intelligence, announced the return of co-founder Sam Altman, four days after his firing.
The San Francisco-based company said it had reached “an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI” as executive chairman of a new board of directors, according to a statement released Tuesday.
Altman, 38, is considered a visionary of generative artificial intelligence, technology that creates conversations, texts, audio, music, video.
Also on the board will be the former co-CEO of the North American technology company Salesforce Bret Taylor, the former Secretary of the United States Treasury Larry Summers and the leader of the question and answer portal Quora, Adam D’Angelo.
OpenAI’s previous board of directors, which included D’Angelo, refused to disclose the reasons for Altman’s dismissal, announced on Friday, sparking internal conflict at the company and increased pressure from investors.
At the time, management said only that Altman “was not consistently honest in communications,” which affected his ability “to exercise his responsibilities” and therefore “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.” .
On Monday, the majority of OpenAI’s senior managers demanded the resignation of the board of directors due to Altman’s surprise departure, they indicated in a letter published by several media outlets.
Symbol of generative artificial intelligence since the launch of bot ChatGPT conversation a year ago, the OpenAI crisis took Silicon Valley, the main technology ecosystem in the United States, by surprise, where Altman is seen as a prodigy.
A minority shareholder in OpenAI, with a 49% stake, Microsoft announced on Monday that it had hired Altman, as well as Greg Brockman, who had resigned from OpenAI when he learned of Altman’s firing.
Last week, Altman attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco and stated that artificial intelligence will be greater than “any of the great technological revolutions” recorded so far, but also recognized the need to protect humanity from the future threat of artificial intelligence.
The North American Government is especially concerned about the role that generative artificial intelligence could play during the 2024 election campaign. The technology allows the creation of hyperrealistic montages (deep) and false content and, therefore, can facilitate disinformation campaigns.
Source: TSF
