The Experience of Being Fired from OpenAI Was Extremely Painful

Just weeks after the “shocking layoff drama” unfolded at OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman now has a brighter outlook on it all. Altman was abruptly fired by the OpenAI board in mid-November 2023 and reinstated as CEO just days later.

Just weeks after the “shocking layoff drama” unfolded at OpenAI, boss Sam Altman now has a brighter outlook on it all. (Photo: Darrell Etherington/Getty) — Just weeks after the “shocking layoff drama” unfolded at OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman now has a brighter outlook on it all. (Photo: Darrell Etherington/Getty)

In his latest public statement, Sam Altman opened up about his surprise dismissal from OpenAI in an interview with Time Magazine editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs. “I was personally devastated, but I actually think it was great for OpenAI,” said Sam Altman.

Altman said that OpenAI had never been more united and determined when he returned to the helm. He never thought this moment would come “so soon,” he said, because he predicted that tensions would inevitably come to a head at some point on OpenAI’s path to building a super-intelligent, human-beneficial artificial intelligence (AGI).

“Of course, I don’t wish that on my competitors,” said Sam Altman. “But honestly, it actually had a really positive impact on OpenAI as a company.”

In a new interview, Altman said he still has to deal with what happened. But his biggest takeaway is that hiring good people is the most important job of a CEO. “When the incident happened, the proudest moment for me, in all this madness, was realizing that the executive team could absolutely run the company without me,” he said.

Altman returned to OpenAI with a new board that included Silicon Valley veteran Bret Taylor and former Harvard president Larry Summers. Quora CEO and co-founder Adam D'Angelo was a successor from the previous board. And one of the big changes OpenAI made after Altman returned was that the new board could override his decisions.

Ultimately, Altman believes OpenAI will be able to stand up for itself in the event of any further controversies in the future. He also believes that OpenAI’s ability to function in such uncertain and stressful times will be key for the world at large.

HUYNH DUNG (Source: Businessinsider)

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