Somewhere during the 96 hours between the surprise firing of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his rehiring, observers and social media users started speculating about an eventual movie and which famous actor would play which much less famous AI researcher.
Of course, the saga did seem made for the screen with its palace intrigue and whiplash swings of power. But for many of us working to advance the frontiers of computing, this was a drama foretold–a fitting encapsulation of the contradictions present in the grand utopian and dystopian visions that have dominated the debate in the year since artificial intelligence entered the public consciousness.
