Sam Altman’s dramatic firing from OpenAI, the high-profile tech organization behind ChatGPT, showed a rare reversal of the usual power dynamics when the goals of purpose and profit intersect.
Under the AI company’s unusual structure, a nonprofit board oversees a for-profit arm backed by Microsoft and venture capital firms—and on Friday, the board abruptly ousted Altman, the CEO of its profits-focused subsidiary. An entire TV season’s worth of drama ensued in the next four days (and has yet to conclude), as OpenAI’s powerful investors tried to reverse the decision of the board. Then one of those investors, Microsoft, decided to just hire Altman directly and offer jobs to OpenAI’s employees—while some of those employees and other backers have continued pushing for OpenAI to reinstate Altman.
