Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, has shared his thoughts on the recent upheaval involving Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Speaking at the DealBook Summit with Andrew Sorkin on Wednesday, Musk expressed concern about the circumstances surrounding Altman’s temporary removal from OpenAI. He was particularly interested in the reasons behind the dispute between Altman and Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist. Musk speculated that the conflict might be related to a potentially dangerous aspect of AI that they uncovered, which he finds worrisome.
“I have mixed feelings about Sam. The ring of power can corrupt,” Musk said, referencing “The Lord of the Rings” movie.
Altman’s brief exit was the result of a decision by OpenAI’s six-person board, but the reasons behind this move remain unclear. According to a report by Business Insider’s Kali Hays, OpenAI employees were informed that Altman’s firing was due to a specific statement made to the board concerning personnel. However, the employees were skeptical of this explanation. Altman was reinstated after five days when the majority of OpenAI staff threatened to quit if he wasn’t brought back.
Sutskever, who initially voted for Altman’s ouster, seemed to later change his stance on the matter. Musk, who had brought Sutskever into OpenAI and later left the company’s board in 2018 to start a competing firm, X.ai, defended Sutskever, citing his strong moral compass.
“He really sweats it over questions of what is right,” said Musk during a Summit interview with Sorkin. “And if Ilya felt strongly enough to want to fire Sam. Well, I think the world should know what was that reason.”
This defense came despite Musk himself facing criticism from Altman, who mocked Musk’s AI bot as “cringey boomer humour.”
Musk, known for his cautionary stance on AI, reiterated the importance of handling AI technology carefully to avoid public danger. His remarks come amid ongoing debates about the ethical and safety implications of rapidly advancing AI technologies.
Featured image: Credit: CNBC
