Lauren Goode: I’m Lauren Goode. I’m a anciaccess creater at WIRED.
Zoë Schiffer: I’m Zoe Schiffer, WIRED’s honestor of business and industry.
Michael Calore: OK. I want to commence today by going back one year into the past, November 2023, to an event that we refer to as the blip.
Lauren Goode: The blip. We don’t equitable refer to it as the blip. That is actupartner the inner phrase that is used at OpenAI to depict some of the most turbulent three to four days in that company’s history.
[archival audio]: The company OpenAI, one of the top carry outers in man-made intelligence, thrown into disarray.
[archival audio]: One of the most spectacular corporate descfinish-outs.
[archival audio]: The novels on Wall Street today comprises the stunning increasements in the world of man-made intelligence.
Zoë Schiffer: It repartner commenceed on November 17th, this Friday afternoon when Sam Altman, the CEO of the company, gets what he says is the most astonishing, shocking, and difficult novels of his professional nurtureer.
[archival audio]: The shock disthink aboutal of establisher boss, Sam Altman.
[archival audio]: His firing sent shock waves thraw Silicon Valley.
Zoë Schiffer: The board at OpenAI, which at the time was a nonprofit, has lost confidence in him, it says. Despite the fact that the company is by all meadeclareives doing incredibly well, he’s out. He’s no extfinisheder going to direct the company.
Michael Calore: He’s effectively fired from the company that he coset uped.
Zoë Schiffer: Yeah. That promptly sets off a chain reaction of events. His coset uper and pdwellnt of the company, Greg Brockman, resigns in firmarity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says that Sam Altman is actupartner going to join Microsoft and direct an proceedd AI research team there. Then we see almost the entire engageee base at OpenAI sign a letter saying, “Wait, postpone, postpone. If Sam departs, we’re leaving, too.”
[archival audio]: Some 500 of these 700-odd engageees—
[archival audio]: … menaceening to quit over the board’s abrupt firing of OpenAI’s famous CEO, Sam Altman.
Zoë Schiffer: Eventupartner there’s this back and forth nervous negotiation between Sam Altman and the board of honestors, and eventupartner the board then inshighs Mira Murati, the CTO, as the interim CEO. Then unintelligentinutively after that, Sam is able to accomplish an concurment with the board and he returns as CEO and the board sees instantly contrastent, with Brett Taylor and Larry Summers joining, Adam D’Angelo staying, and the rest of the board leaving.
