On April 8th, employees at OpenAI have threatened to leave en masse if their former CEO, Sam Altman rejoins the organisation. The protests are due to Microsoft’s involvement in the project and the perception that Microsoft is taking over the company;oth offices.
OpenAI was formed in late 2015 as a non-profit, independent artificial intelligence research lab with the mission of advancing digital intelligence. The plan was to publish all of the research it conducted so that any person, regardless of who they were, could use it. To fund these efforts, Microsoft became a major investor, giving OpenAI an injection of 1 billion dollars. After this, OpenAI was co-chaired by Sam Altman, the co-founder of Y Combinator and formerly the CEO of OpenAI.
In 2020, Altman announced that he was stepping down as CEO of OpenAI to be the head of Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund. This decision was not met with unanimous approval by the employees. Concerns were raised that the company was now too dependent on Microsoft and that Microsoft was taking control of the company by having Sam Altman back in as a high-ranking executive.
The employees’ fears were increased when it was announced that Altman would be rejoining OpenAI as an advisor. This caused several employees to post publicly on various social media platforms, threatening to leave if Altman was allowed back into OpenAI.
The tension between the employees and Microsoft has put a spotlight on the tech giants’ involvement in OpenAI and the potential implications for the company’s future. Microsoft has made it clear that it will not back away from OpenAI, Bob Hood, the Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, said “We’re committed to OpenAI and with the exit of Sam Altman, we’re committed to its future.”
OpenAI has responded to the situation by addressing the employee concerns and outlining a plan for its collaboration with Microsoft in the future. OpenAI CEO Dario Amodei released a statement saying, “We are finding ways to rework our relationship with Microsoft so that we can preserve our independence, while still taking advantage of the resources and expertise that Microsoft provides. We are always looking to find ways to ensure that OpenAI is the leader in its field and not shackled by any one entity.”
It is still uncertain as to what, if any, impact the OpenAI employee protests will have on future collaborations between the organizations. One thing is clear, Microsoft will not be backing away from OpenAI, and how the employees and leadership move forward will be crucial to the future success of the company.