OpenAI fires and then rehires Sam Altman
Just when it seemed like 2023’s AI news couldn’t get any more absurd, OpenAI hand-delivered a grade-A batch of corporate spectacle. In November, the company’s board of directors voted to fire Sam Altman, a man who is without a doubt one of the most successful CEOs in recent memory. Even stranger was the fact that the board refused to say why, exactly, it was letting Altman go, and gave him zero warning that anything was on the way.
Shortly thereafter, almost every OpenAI employee threatened to quit if Altman wasn’t reinstated, and less than a week later, the board brought Altman back as a conquering hero. The board of directors didn’t fair as well. Every single member was replaced except for one.
