No immediate return to OpenAI for Sam Altman as he lands Microsoft job

A new interim chief executive has been appointed to the company behind major AI chatbot ChatGPT, with the ousted ex-CEO Sam Altman being tapped up to head a new Microsoft AI team.
Mr Altman, the founder of OpenAI and former CEO, was fired in a shock announcement on Friday, as the not-for-profit company board said Mr Altman "was not consistently candid in his communications with the board".
The detail behind the alleged lack of candour was not published and the true reason for the sacking remains unclear.
There had been speculation that Mr Altman could return to the company after he posted a photo of himself wearing an OpenAI guest pass on social media platform X but Microsoft's chief executive on Monday announced Mr Altman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars into OpenAI as it developed its generative AI model, ChatGPT, which gave millions of people the ability to have questions answered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Microsoft was reported to only have been given a minute notice of Mr Altman's exit.
Earlier, the New York Times, based on an OpenAI memo, said OpenAI's board stood by Mr Altman's firing.
It reported that Emmett Shear, who was chief executive at Amazon's streaming platform Twitch, has been appointed as the new interim CEO.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also confirmed Mr Shear's reported appointment, saying the company was "looking forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them".
In a statement that confirmed Mr Altman's appointment, Mr Nadella added that OpenAI's former president Greg Brockman would also be joining.
The departure of Mr Altman on Friday led to the resignation of OpenAI president, Greg Brockman, in support.
Mr Shear replaces Mira Murati - the firm's chief technology officer, who was put in place as OpenAI's interim chief executive on Friday.
According to online technology website The Information, dozens of staff quit at OpenAI after its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever announced Mr Altman would not be returning.
The Information report said Mr Sutskever told OpenAI staff Mr Altman's behaviour and board interactions had undermined the company's ability to supervise artificial intelligence development.
Mr Altman said of his departure: "Today was a weird experience in many ways.
"But one unexpected one is that it has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you're still alive. The outpouring of love is awesome."
Source: news.sky.com
Trending News
Bawumia: 'My early concession was to save Ghana from unnecessary tension'
08:05NDC Legal Director demands answers from Adu Boahene and his lawyer over alleged diversion of public funds
03:01Bawku Crisis: Bawumia calls for cooperation for lasting peace
06:44Nyaho Tamakloe not regsitered as NPP’s founding member– Kofi Ofosu Nkansah
02:57Our comeback requires having open arms to all – Bawumia to NPP
09:37Gov't inaugurates new governing board of National Peace Council
02:38Let's avoid partisanship in pursuit of peace for Bawku
06:39Let's avoid attacking each other in the media; it weakens our party - Bawumia to NPP supporters
15:07Let’s all rise and rebuild for victory 2028 - Bawumia to NPP faithful
07:31WAEC calls for stakeholder support to help curb rising exam malpractices
02:15