First, it is a sign of an organization that is dysfunctional at at the executive level. They clearly politically miscalculated the cause and effect result of their decision. It is a symptom of the “irony tower” syndrome where executive leaders think they operate in a political vacuum. Altman was to prominent a figure in the AI community to just abruptly fire - political malpractice. Why give the board members who fired Altman so much financial compensation if they can’t effectively make such critical decisions? Isn’t what they are supposedly paid for? Second, I have mixed feelings on this subject. Altman stated that AI was a tool and not a species in an interview. However, he is in know way qualified to make that determination. He’s just an IT executive not an evolutionary scientist. There are more and more AI executives making such quasi scientific assertions regarding both evolution and AI with no scientific basis to support their opinions. In my newly published book “On the Origin of Artificial Species” I base my assertion that AI is today a tool with the potential to BECOME an artificial species on the ideas of Turing, Siebel, Nash, Einstein, Darwin, Gould, Plato, Aristotle, etc.
AI Ecosystem Builder | CEO @ Rise of AI | AI Investor & Advisor since 2014 | Author ‘Die KI-Nation‘
Sam Altman was asked to step down as CEO of OpenAI. At the same time, several founding and key members left with him. It seems that the board didn't talk to the shareholders and acted on their own. What do I think? 1) Sam Altman is a key figure in the AI ecosystem. He has great visibility, has pushed OpenAI hard to be number one in the market. 2) The way he was ousted seems to be based on emotion. I do not see clear communication and preparation. 3) I think this is a loss for OpenAI. The company will miss its prominent galleon figure. 4) I hope OpenAI will continue to do great things. 5) More heads will roll. Hopefully on the company's board.