What Altman’s return to OpenAI means for the future of AI – 11/23/2023 – Tech

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Altman returns, but OpenAI is not the same

OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT and the company that started the current generative AI (artificial intelligence) craze, announced this Wednesday the return of Sam Altman to the role of CEO of the company.

The announcement was awaited by the market after almost all of the company’s employees threatened to be fired if it did not happen.

The episodes involving the surprising dismissal of the executive last Friday (we count in the timeline here) and his return to his position are relevant to understanding where the evolution of ChatGPT and AI itself should go.

• Strengthened, the CEO returns to a different OpenAI than when he left it.

Because he left? The company’s board said it had lost confidence in Altman and that he was not being faithful in communications with the board.

The American press investigation indicates that there was concern among most of the board that Altman was rushing the development of AI tools without due security measures.

The startup was created as a non-profit entity and claims to value the safe advancement of technology.

• It is this that should gain even more strength from now on.

Why did he come back? Due to pressure from employees and investors. The imminent loss of the entire team to Microsoft, which had guaranteed employment for Altman and his employees, ended up forcing the resignation of the majority of the board.

And going forward?

The immediate change is in the board.

↳ Who was there before:

• Greg Brockman: he was the president and Altman’s main ally on the board. He left his position last Friday, before the meeting that would fire the then CEO, and now returns to the company without an announced position.

• Ilya Sutskever: one of the company’s co-founders and its chief scientist. He was identified as the key to Altman’s dismissal, but later said he regretted the decision and signed the employees’ letter asking for the executive’s return.

• Tasha McCauley: technology entrepreneur and board member of the charity Effective Ventures.

• Helen Toner: director of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University.

• Adam D’Angelo: founder of the question and answer website Quora.

↳ Who takes over now:

• Bret Taylor: former CEO of Salesforce, will be chairman of the board, the same position he held at Twitter before Elon Musk bought the social network.

• Adam D’Angelo: he remains on the board. Maintenance was negotiated with former advisors, according to the Financial Times – which indicates that Altman did not get everything he wanted.

What’s behind the dispute: Altman’s dismissal had been a victory for the company’s “trust and safety” wing, as columnist Ronaldo Lemos wrote.

Its return, therefore, is seen as an achievement for those who defend a more accelerated development of AI.

This fight is not new in Silicon Valley. The division is illustrated by the movement called “effective altruism”, which is represented by an organization that aims to promote high-impact donations.

What does it have to do with AI? Defenders of this philosophy, including some billionaires in the sector, warn of the risks that new technologies can pose to humanity and argue that reducing them is a priority.

• Former OpenAI board members were linked to the movement, while Sam Altman spoke out against the ideology.

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2023 deficit worsens

The Lula (PT) government expects to end the first year of its mandate with a loss of R$ 177.4 billion in the accounts.

The new estimate is close to the limit authorized by the LDO (Budget Guidelines Law) and is even further away from the target set by Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance).

In numbers:

• R$ 213.6 billion, or 2% of GDP, is the authorized deficit for the government’s public accounts this year. In his inauguration speech, Haddad had mentioned that he expected a much better result than that.

• 1% of GDP was the target set by the minister for this year’s deficit. The projected account now, however, is already in 1.7% of GDP.

Which explains: It is a combination of frustrated revenues – royalties, dividends, concessions – and an above-inflation increase in expenses, mainly in social security benefits.

Double bet: Even with the worsening projections for the 2023 result, the economic team continues with the speech of zero deficit next year.

The objective is discredited by 100% of market analysts interviewed by the Genial/Quaest survey released this Wednesday.

Opinion:

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‘Back to basics’ in retail

After surfing the online wave during the pandemic, with investments and acquisitions driven by interest rates at historic lows, Brazilian retail giants now adopt a similar tone in their communications: “back to basics”.

Understand: the term indicates a change in priority in companies’ discourse to recover the essence of the business, that is, what brought them here.

The desire to “embrace everything” gives way to more down-to-earth strategies. The focus becomes sustainable growth in an environment of high interest rates and a drop in Brazilian consumption.

The companies:

↳ Casas Bahia: has accumulated negative results and has a debt that scares the market. It went to the market trying to raise R$1 billion to reorganize itself, but only managed to raise R$623 million.

↳ Nature: with the series of acquisitions of international brands in the last decade, the company saw its leverage (debt) grow and became very “bloated”.

• How do you want to get back to basics: got rid of two brands it had purchased (Aesop and The Body Shop). It will focus on Natura and Avon Internacional, brands in which it is strong with direct sales, through consultants.

↳ Americans: The accounting scandal that led it to bankruptcy also ended up alienating customers, suppliers and “sellers” (third-party sellers from its platform).

↳ Tok&Stok: After facing an eviction request and closing units, the company obtained R$100 million in aid from its partners to reorganize the house.

• How do you want to get back to basics: The first step was the return of the founder to the role of CEO. The focus will be less on online and more on physical stores, with their ready-made sets and seasonal collections.