OpenAI researchers are said to have warned the board of a breakthrough in AI research that could “threaten humanity”. Not long after, CEO Sam Altman was fired.

OpenAI has had a turbulent week. CEO Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired on Friday evening, hired at Microsoft on Monday, and rehired at OpenAI on Tuesday evening. The reasons for the dismissal were previously unclear, but Reuters sheds new light on the matter. A breakthrough as groundbreaking as it was shocking could have led to Altman’s attempted dismissal.

OpenAI’s dream is to develop a “general artificial intelligence”, i.e. an AI that is on a par with humans in terms of intellectual abilities. GPT-4 has exceptional language skills, but for now the model continues to stumble over mathematical problems. Under the name “Project Q”, OpenAI is said to have succeeded in developing a model that, in addition to language skills, also has basic mathematics skills. This development caused euphoria but also slight panic at OpenAI. Not everyone in computer science believes that artificial intelligence should be able to keep up with humans.

The drop is too big

Some researchers sent a letter to the board warning them about the progress of Project Q, which they said had the potential to “threaten humanity.” The exact contents of the letter are a mystery, but it was the final straw for the council, which had long felt that Altman had not communicated openly enough with them. They also accused the CEO of thinking too much about the commercial side lately, which made them worry that Altman was bringing the model to market too quickly. OpenAI is run by an NGO, but at the same time it is also a commercial company that needs to make a profit.

The ball started rolling and eventually escalated into the events of the last few days. After Altman’s firing, co-founder Greg Brockman resigned and a mutiny broke out among OpenAI employees. The board eventually had to give in and Altman was brought back on board. An interim council has now been appointed to put together a new board. The last word may not have been spoken about the musical chairs at OpenAI.