Before OpenAI's board terminated Sam Altman as CEO, some employees claimed that they sent an AI breakthrough warning letter to members.
This was revealed by sources familiar with the AI firm's activities. They said that the warning letter was sent to the board of directors four days before Altman was removed.
This photo illustration shows the ChatGPT logo at an office in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2023. The company behind the ChatGPT app that churns out essays, poems, or computing code on command released on March 14, 2023, a long-awaited update of its artificial intelligence (AI).
Now, the question is, was Sam Altman terminated because of the AI breakthrough concern? Here are the latest details.
OpenAI Board Received AI Breakthrough Warning Before Altman's Termination
CNBC reported that the unreported letter warned OpenAI's board of directors regarding an artificial intelligence breakthrough that could threaten humanity.
Two intels familiar with the matter claimed that this warning letter, as well as the concerning AI algorithm, became the trigger that influenced board members to terminate Sam Altman.
The anonymous sources claimed that the letter was just one of the main factors that led to the CEO's removal from the company. They didn't provide another factor that became a catalyst.
Researchers who sent the letter also didn't share specific details about the dangerous AI breakthrough they were talking about. But, Mira Murati, a long-time executive of OpenAI, talked about the so-called "Q*" project (pronounced as "Q-Star").
Although it is still unclear if the Q* project was the AI breakthrough they were warning about, sources said that this project could allow OpenAI to achieve its most-awaited superintelligence, aka AGI (artificial general intelligence).
OpenAI researchers, as well as other AI experts, said that AGI is just like artificial intelligence existing today. However, this system is considered to be smarter than humans.
Read Also: AI Shuffle: Sam Altman Joins Microsoft, OpenAI Hires Ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear
Is AGI Sam Altman's Idea?
This illustration photo produced in Arlington, Virginia on November 20, 2023, shows a smart phone screen displaying the logo of OpenAI juxtaposed with a screen showing a photo of former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California.
The Verge reported that OpenAI decided to rehire Sam Altman as its CEO after its employees threatened that they would quit because of Altman's removal.
Aside from him, Greg Brockman, the former OpenAI president who resigned because of Sam's termination, said that he will now return after hearing that Altman is the CEO again.
As of writing, OpenAI hasn't confirmed if Sam Altman was the mastermind of the so-called Q* project. It is also unclear if the tech company will continue developing it after the previous issues it faced.
What OpenAI focuses on right now is resetting the governance of the company as it constructs a new board composed of Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, and Bret Taylor.
Related Article: Sam Altman Makes Surprising Comeback as OpenAI CEO, Joined by New Board Members
