I completely understand why people want answers now, but I also think this expectation is entirely unreasonable.
When the OpenAI board asked Sam Altman to return to the company after firing him a day earlier, he initially felt challenged, hurt, and angry.
“It took me a few minutes to compose myself, overcome my emotions, and then say, ‘Yes, of course, I’d like to.’ I like this company. Over the past four and a half years, I’ve been wholeheartedly devoted to this company, longer than most of my time. We’ve made such enormous progress on a mission that I care deeply about, which is the mission of beneficial AGI.”
Following a five-day board coup, Altman officially returned to OpenAI on November 29th as the CEO. The company’s largest investor, Microsoft, also plans to take a non-voting board seat.
In interviews, Altman repeatedly refused to answer the main question on everyone’s mind: why exactly was he fired? The new OpenAI board, led by Bret Taylor, will conduct an independent investigation into the events that transpired. “I very much welcome that,” Altman said.
Below is the full interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, slightly edited for clarity.
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Sam, I’d like to address a crucial issue first, which is that the public still doesn’t know the exact reason for your dismissal. Why do you think you were fired?
Sam Altman (referred to as SA below): The board will conduct an independent review here. I welcome this very much. I don’t have much to say right now, but I look forward to learning more.
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Do you believe the board expressed a lack of trust in you?
SA: That’s a better question for them.
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You mentioned on X that there were ‘clear misunderstandings’ between you and the board members. What were those misunderstandings?
SA: I feel I’m not ready to discuss that yet. I believe letting the review process take its course is crucial. I’m willing to talk about anything forward-looking. I think someday I’ll be happy to talk about what happened here, but not now.
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Can you tell us why you can’t talk about this matter right now?
SA: I just want to let this process unfold without interference.
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You mentioned Ilya Sutskever (OpenAI’s Chief Scientist) in the letter to the staff. Can you tell me why he changed his mind and decided to stand with others?
Mira Murati (referred to as u0022MMu0022 below): We don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to ask Ilya.
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Sam, looking back, what was the main motivation behind bringing you back?
SA: That’s interesting. On Saturday morning (November 26th), some board members called me to see if I was willing to discuss things. My initial reaction was resistance. It was like, ‘Man, I’m hurt, I’m angry, and I feel this is bad.’u003cbru003eHowever, soon after, I began to reflect that clearly, I like this company. Over the past four and a half years, I’ve been wholeheartedly devoted to this company, longer than most of my time in other areas. We’ve made such enormous progress on a mission that I care deeply about, which is the mission of safe and beneficial AGI. But I also want to thank everyone here and all the partners who have placed such a significant bet on us, along with Mira and the leadership team, and everyone doing incredible work here. It took me a few minutes to compose myself, overcome my emotions, and then say, ‘Yes, of course, I’d like to.’
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So, the board asked you to come back?
SA: Yes.
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Were you hesitant at first?
SA: Not for long. I had a lot of feelings after that happened.
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The employees stand with you. How significant do you think this is?
SA: Undoubtedly, we’ve navigated through this challenge as a stronger, more united, more focused, and more loyal team. I thought we had a strong conviction and focus before, and now I think we have more. So, that’s my silver lining.u003cbru003eThroughout the entire process, we haven’t lost a single employee or customer. They not only sustained product development amid challenging growth situations but also rolled out new features. Research has continued to progress.
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Do you want to return to the board?
SA: That sounds like a PR topic; it’s not where my focus lies right now. I have a ton of very difficult, important, and urgent work to do. I hope to do my job well, but whether I join the board or not doesn’t factor into that. It’s not something I’m spending time thinking about at the moment.
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What does ‘improved governance structure’ mean? Will there be changes in the structure of the non-profit holding company?
SA: This question is best left to the board members, but not at this moment. Honestly speaking, they need time, and we’ll support them in truly contemplating this issue. There are issues with our governance structure. And the best way to address this will take some time. I completely understand why people want answers now. But I also think this expectation is entirely unreasonable.
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Why do you think it’s unreasonable? I feel people have many unusual perspectives about what happened. It seems more like disagreements rather than misconduct or similar things.
SA: Simply because designing a genuinely good governance structure, especially for such an influential technology, isn’t a matter of a week. People need a lot of time to think about this, debate, gather external viewpoints, and stress-test it. It just takes a bit of time.
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Will OpenAI’s safety practices change due to the recent events?
MM: No, this is unrelated to safety.
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There have been reports recently about breakthroughs with the Q* model. What’s happening there?
SA: No specific comment regarding this unfortunate leak. But we’ve consistently said, whether it’s two weeks ago, today, a year ago, or earlier, that we expect this technology to continue advancing rapidly, and we aim to keep working on finding ways to make it safe and beneficial.u003cbru003eWithout commenting on any specific things or projects, we believe progress is research. You always hit bumps, but we expect progress to continue significantly. We want to engage with this field and find ways to make it as good as possible.
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Last question: I believe you’re still processing all of this. I know it’s fresh. What have you learned from the entire event?
SA: I don’t think I have a concise answer yet. A lot, but I’m still figuring it out. I mean, there’s a lot to say, but I don’t think I’m ready… at this point, all I can provide is a long and messy answer.
Alright, let’s talk about it next time.
After hanging up, Altman called back after a while.
SA: I’ve come to realize that the company can function just fine without me, and that’s a really good thing. I’m happy to be back, don’t get me wrong. But there’s no pressure on me after coming back, like ‘Oh my goodness, I have to do this,’ or ‘The company needs me.’ Selfishly, it feels good because either I picked excellent leaders or I’ve guided them well. I’m glad the company can thrive without me, showing that the team is ready and has leveled up.
Sourcing from Internet