Unexpected Turn of Events: ChatGPT Owner Removed as Company CEO Amid Allegations of 'Dishonesty'

The AI firm OpenAI reported that Sam Altman, the CEO of the company, has been ousted from the board due to a lack of ‘candid communication.’

According to OpenAI’s blog post, the board no longer believes Altman can effectively manage the business. The board decided, after a thorough assessment process, that Mr. Altman’s inconsistency in being honest in his communications with the board had impeded the board’s capacity to carry out its duties. As a result, the board decided to terminate his employment, expressing a loss of faith in his ability to steer OpenAI in the future. With immediate effect, Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati has taken on the position of acting CEO, and the organization plans to initiate the process of finding a long-term CEO.

When contacted by The Verge, OpenAI’s communications department chose not to provide further statements, sticking to the details disclosed in the blog post. According to various insiders, OpenAI staff found out about this news at the same time as the public announcement. Sam Altman conveyed his farewell message on Twitter (formerly known as X), expressing affection for his tenure at OpenAI and characterizing it as a transformative experience.

i loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people.

will have more to say about what’s next later.

🫡

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 17, 2023

As per OpenAI’s statement, Greg Brockman, co-founder, and president, is stepping down from his position as chairman of the board; however, he will remain with the company. Following the announcement, Brockman disclosed on Twitter that he had resigned, attributing his decision to ‘today’s news.’

After learning today’s news, this is the message I sent to the OpenAI team: https://t.co/NMnG16yFmm pic.twitter.com/8x39P0ejOM

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

In a separate message shared on Twitter, Brockman communicated that he and Altman were informed of their board removal last Friday by OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who also serves on the board. Brockman conveyed, ‘Sam and I are surprised and disheartened by the actions taken by the board today.’

Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.

Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.

We too are still trying to figure out exactly…

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

This sudden turn of events is particularly unexpected. Altman, who serves as the prominent representative of OpenAI, played a crucial role in kickstarting the ongoing AI competition with the highly praised launch of ChatGPT last year. Just a week ago, Altman presented the keynote speech at OpenAI’s inaugural DevDay conference, introducing a series of substantial updates to ensure competitiveness with major tech rivals such as Microsoft and Google. Moreover, Altman participated as a speaker at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference just last Thursday.