Elon Musk demands ‘actual reason’ behind Altman’s dismissal

OpenAI, the company responsible for the development of advanced LLMs such as ChatGPT 4, has recently announced the termination of CEO Sam Altman. The company, however, provided scant details, stating only that it "no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading."

The abrupt decision has sparked controversy and drawn global attention including Elon Musk. Musk, a former board member of OpenAI, took to social media to express his concerns. He underlined the gravity of the situation, asserting that given the substantial risks associated with advanced AI, OpenAI owes the public an explanation for the drastic step taken by the board.

"Given the risk and power of advanced AI, the public should be informed of why the board felt they had to take such a drastic decision," Musk stated in response to a post by former Yammer CEO David Sacks.

Given the risk and power of advanced AI, the public should be informed of why the board felt they had to take such drastic action

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2023

In his tweet, Elon Musk also asked a public clarification on the reasons behind the actions taken by the OpenAI board. Musk believes that if it has anything to do with AI safety, the world needs to know and all “the money in the world won’t matter if AI goes wrong.”

Very important for the public to know why the board felt so strongly about their actions.

If it was a matter of AI safety, that would affect all of Earth.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2023

Elon Musk, a former board member of OpenAI, left the company in 2018, citing a conflict of interest with Tesla. Musk expressed concerns about OpenAI's potential societal impact in his later interactions with media and also his X.com handle. It should also be noted that Elon Musk is also on the brink of launching Grok, the first product of x.AI, his AI startup. 

Musk has also replied to a tweet refuting the claims of OpenAI’s first mover advantage. 

Altman had been actively seeking funding to advance AI development, while some board members advocated for more substantial measures to address potential threats, according to media reports.

Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI and a key figure in Altman's dismissal, took a cautious approach, understanding the potential societal risks posed by AI. Sutskever initiated the formation of a "Super Alignment" team within the company, tasked with ensuring that future iterations of GPT-4. 

In his other recent tweet, Musk also stated that Sutskever does not seek power and must have a substantial reason behind taking the decision to replace Sam Altman. 

This is the scariest quote I’ve read in a long time. A long time. https://t.co/6yrR44NqFl

— DrKnowItAll (@DrKnowItAll16) November 19, 2023

Musk is addressing the ethical considerations and accountability in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. As one of the most influential AI companies globally, OpenAI's actions and decisions are closely scrutinised, especially regarding the potential societal impact of its technologies.