Page 12 - aruba-today-20231124

A12 technology
Friday 24 November 2023
What does Sam Altman's firing — and quick

reinstatement — mean for the future of AI?

unknown about Altman's
initial ousting. Friday's an-
nouncement said he was
"not consistently candid in
his communications" with
the then-board of direc-
tors, which refused to pro-
vide more specific details.
Regardless, the news sent
shockwaves throughout
the AI world — and, be-
cause OpenAI and Altman
are such leading players in
this space, may raise trust
concerns around a bur-
The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a screen geoning technology that
showing a portion of the company website in this photo taken many people still have
on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in New York. questions about.
(AP Photo/Peter Morgan) "The OpenAI episode
NEW YORK (AP) — It's been media. And as he became shows how fragile the AI
quite a week for ChatGPT- Silicon Valley's most sought- ecosystem is right now,
maker OpenAI — and co- after voice on the promise including addressing AI's
founder Sam Altman. and potential dangers of risks," said Johann Laux, an
Altman, who helped start this technology, Altman expert at the Oxford Inter-
OpenAI as a nonprofit re- helped transform OpenAI net Institute focusing on
search lab back in 2015, into a world-renowned human oversight of artifi-
was removed as CEO Fri- startup. cial intelligence.
day in a sudden and most- But his position at OpenAI The turmoil also accentu-
ly unexplained exit that hit some rocky turns in a ated the differences be-
stunned the industry. And whirlwind that was the past tween Altman and mem-
while his chief executive week. Altman was fired as bers of the company's
title was swiftly reinstated CEO Friday — and days previous board, who have
just days later, a lot of ques- later, he was back on the expressed various views on
tions are still up in the air. job with a new board of di- the safety risks posed by
If you're just catching up rectors. AI as the technology ad-
on the OpenAI saga and Within that time, Microsoft, vances.
what's at stake for the ar- which has invested bil- Multiple experts add that
tificial intelligence space lions of dollars in OpenAI this drama highlights how
as a whole, you've come and has rights to its existing it should be governments
to the right place. Here's a technology, helped drive — and not big tech com-
rundown of what you need Altman's return, quickly hir- panies — that should be
to know. ing him as well as another calling the shots on AI reg-
WHO IS SAM ALTMAN AND OpenAI co-founder and ulation, particularly for fast-
HOW DID HE RISE TO FAME? former president, Greg evolving technologies like
Altman is co-founder of Brockman, who quit in pro- generative AI.
OpenAI, the San Francis- test after the CEO's ousting. "The events of the last few
co-based company be- Meanwhile, hundreds of days have not only jeop-
hind ChatGPT (yes, the OpenAI employees threat- ardized OpenAI's attempt
chatbot that's seemingly ened to resign. to introduce more ethical
everywhere today — from Both Altman and Brock- corporate governance in
schools to health care ). man celebrated their re- the management of their
The explosion of ChatGPT turns to the company in company, but it also shows
since its arrival one year posts on X, the platform that corporate gover-
ago propelled Altman into formerly known as Twitter, nance alone, even when
the spotlight of the rapid early Wednesday. well-intended, can eas-
commercialization of gen- WHY DOES HIS REMOVAL ily end up cannibalized by
erative AI — which can — AND REINSTATEMENT — other corporate's dynam-
produce novel imagery, MATTER? ics and interests," said Enza
passages of text and other There's a lot that remains Iannopollo, principal ana-
lyst at Forrester.
The lesson, Iannopollo said,
is that companies can't
alone deliver the level of
safety and trust in AI that
society needs. "Rules and
guardrails, designed with
companies and enforced
by regulators with rigor, are
crucial if we are to benefit
from AI," he added.q