OpenAI said Wednesday it has completed the first phase of a new governance structure that added Microsoft as a non-voting board member, as it works to end divisions that fueled the ouster of Sam Altman as general manager and prepares for a future as general manager. a bigger company.
In a blog post, Mr. Altman, who was quickly reinstated last week, also outlined his priorities for OpenAI as he takes the reins of the high-profile artificial intelligence startup. He said the company would summarize its work in creating safe AI systems and products that would benefit its customers. He added that his board would focus on improving governance and overseeing an independent review of the events leading up to and following his removal as chief executive.
Microsoft is expanding the three-person board announced by OpenAI last week. The tech giant is one of OpenAI’s largest investors, with a $13 billion commitment. Microsoft will be able to participate in OpenAI board meetings but not vote on business decisions.
“Good governance partly means that there is more predictability, transparency and input from different stakeholders, and this seems like a good way to get that from a very important part,” Altman said. in an interview, referring to Microsoft.
The blog post was Mr. Altman’s first in-depth comment since the leadership crisis at OpenAI. Four board members fired him on Nov. 17, saying he had not been “always honest” with them. That sparked a frenzy, with more than 700 of OpenAI’s 770 employees signing a letter saying they would leave if Mr. Altman did not return. Within days, he regained his position and two board members announced their resignations.
The drama has been scrutinized because OpenAI is one of the most powerful players in artificial intelligence, a rapidly evolving technology that could help people become more productive, potentially eliminate jobs and be used to spread misinformation. The leadership crisis has raised questions about the company’s governance structure, which is unusual because a nonprofit board controls the company, as well as whether the he company had moved beyond its roots and how it should move forward.
On Wednesday, Mr. Altman and Bret Taylor, a technology executive named OpenAI’s new president, did not directly address these issues in their blog posts. Without providing many details, they said the company would build a board of directors including members with expertise in technology and security policy.
Mr Taylor said OpenAI would remain committed to its mission of building artificial intelligence “that is safe and benefits all humanity”.
For the foreseeable future, OpenAI’s board of directors will consist of Microsoft; Mr. Taylor, an early Facebook executive and former co-CEO of Salesforce; Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary; and Adam D’Angelo, chief executive of the question-and-answer site Quora, who was among the members who called Mr. Altman.
In an interview, Mr. Taylor said he and Mr. Summers would oversee the independent review and select a law firm to conduct the investigation.
Microsoft declined to comment on the composition of its board of directors.
Mr. Altman said OpenAI did not lose any employees during the leadership crisis. Their executive ranks will look like they did before Mr. Altman’s ouster, with Mira Murati returning to her role as chief technology officer. Mr. Altman said Greg Brockman, the company’s former chairman, will be his partner and continue in his role as chairman.
The future of Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist and founder of OpenAI, is unclear. He was one of the board members who voted to remove Mr. Altman. Mr. Sutskever later said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he regretted his role in the ouster.
In his blog post, Mr. Altman said he had “no ill will toward” Mr. Sutskever and was in discussions with him about “how he can continue his work at OpenAI.”
