The ongoing Sam Altman-OpenAI saga just got a new twist. Soon after it was announced that Altman (alongside now-former OpenAI board member Greg Brockman) will be joining Microsoft’s AI innovation division, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hinted in a couple of interviews, that he was open to Altman returning to OpenAI.
In an interview with CNBC and Bloomberg TV, Satya Nadella hinted at the complexity of the situation, expressing openness to multiple scenarios regarding Sam Altman. When queried about Altman’s potential return to OpenAI despite the earlier announcement of joining Microsoft’s AI innovation division, Nadella stated, “I’m open to both options.”
Despite the turmoil, Nadella reiterated Microsoft’s commitment to OpenAI and Sam Altman, irrespective of the ongoing flux. Microsoft’s explicit partnership with OpenAI has been a strategic move, a nearly $13Bn one at that, and Nadella emphasized the company’s desire to maintain this collaboration. However, he acknowledged the dependency on OpenAI’s workforce either staying with the organization or transitioning to Microsoft.
“Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella spoke at the interview. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.” “Obviously, we want Sam and Greg to have a fantastic home if they’re not going to be in OpenAI,” he added.
Earlier today, The Verge reported that there has been apparent realisation at OpenAI’s thrid co-founder Ilya Sutskever’s end, and now only two of the remaining board members need to flip the vote to bring back Altman. Sutskever — chief scientist at OpenAI — had a change of heart after hundreds of company employees threatened a mass resignation if Altman isn’t brought back. When the brightest of AI scientists threaten to depart from what is arguably the hottest tech commodity in place, it is bound to shake some trees.
Read more at thetechportal.com
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