An independent investigation commissioned by OpenAI’s nonprofit board found that CEO Sam Altman’s conduct “did not warrant his termination.” He will now rejoin the board after surviving an attempted board coup in November.
Board Chairman Bret Taylor said in a press release that law firm WilmerHale interviewed board members, employees and reviewed “more than 30,000 documents” and concluded that Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman “are the right leaders for OpenAI.” ”.
In addition to Altman, Taylor announced three additional OpenAI board members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, former Sony legal director; and Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. They will join Taylor, Altman, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo and Larry Summers in running OpenAI’s nonprofit parent company.
For those who want to better understand why Altman was suddenly fired last fall, OpenAI’s public summary of the WilmerHale investigation is frustratingly short on detail. The law firm said the board believed that the sudden firing of Altman “will alleviate internal management challenges” and that “the decision was not motivated by concerns about product safety or security, the speed of development, OpenAI’s financial condition or its statements to investors, clients” or business partners. ”
OpenAI’s investigative summary is frustratingly lacking in details
The investigative summary uses the same vague language that OpenAI’s former board posted to justify its decision to fire Altman: I was told that the incident, which OpenAI employees referred to as the “Blip,” was “the aftermath of the company’s collapse.” and the loss of relationship and trust between the former Board of Directors and Mr. Altman. ” WilmerHale also found that the former board “failed to notify key stakeholders in advance, conduct a comprehensive investigation, and give Mr. Altman an opportunity to address the former board’s concerns.”
In a brief video call with reporters on Friday, Altman apologized for what he believed was “former OpenAI board members harming OpenAI through their actions,” but declined to provide further details. He has been widely reported to have feuded with former board member Helen Toner over an academic paper she co-authored that criticized OpenAI’s approach to security, and others have expressed concerns about conflicts of interest posed by Altman’s other investments.
OpenAI said on Friday it planned to “enhance” its conflict-of-interest policy for employees, without elaborating, and would also set up a reporting hotline for employees and contractors.
Altman appeared delighted as he sat next to Brett Taylor on the call with reporters. At one point, he was asked about the employment status of co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in the failed coup, but changed his stance when most OpenAI employees threatened to resign if Altman didn’t return .
Suzkweil has since gone silent, raising questions about his future involvement in the company. Altman said on the call that “there’s nothing to announce,” but that “Ilya is awesome” and “I hope we work together for the rest of our careers.”
he said Latest “Leaks” The intention to “pit us against each other” “didn’t work” and he was “glad the whole thing is over”.
