Sam Altman was the trusted face of AI. His firm, though, is much more complex

Altman’s departure caused a wave of excited, if not entirely well-informed, speculation in the tech commentariat. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP

The news on Friday that Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, had been abruptly sacked by the company’s board came as a shock to the tech industry.

“Mr Altman’s departure,” said the ponderous announcement, “follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”