Today, 490 OpenAI employees signed a public letter of protest, stating that unless OpenAI dissolves the company's board of directors, re-appoints Altman as CEO, and returns former president Greg Brockman, they may resign to show their support for Altman.
The OpenAI board's actions sparked outrage and public protests. 490 employees threatened to leave unless the board resigns en masse and reinstates Altman and former president Greg Brockman.
These employees stated in the protest letter: "You fired Altman and removed Brockman from the board of directors. These actions harmed the company's business, undermined our mission, and even the entire company. Your actions clearly demonstrate that you are simply incapable of overseeing OpenAI."
Notably, the letter of protest was also signed by OpenAI’s chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever, who has been accused of coordinating the board coup against Altman from the beginning.
Shortly before the letter was published, Sutskever posted on social media
The letter of protest follows an extraordinary and dizzying weekend in Silicon Valley. Just last Friday (Saturday, Beijing time), the OpenAI board of directors dismissed Altman from his position, saying that he had not been consistently candid in his communications with the board of directors and hindered the board of directors' ability to perform its duties.
Subsequently, OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati was appointed as interim CEO.
The OpenAI board appears open to bringing Altman back to the company after facing backlash from investors, including Microsoft. On Sunday, Altman posted a photo of himself wearing a visitor badge at OpenAI headquarters, giving some hope that Altman would return.
But last night, the OpenAI board told employees that Altman would not be returning to the company. A few hours later, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced artificial intelligence research group.
OpenAI also moved quickly, ousting Murati and appointing Emmett Shear, the former CEO of video game streaming platform Twitch, as interim CEO.
The content of the letter is as follows:
To the OpenAI Board of Directors:
OpenAI is the world's leading artificial intelligence company. We, the folks at OpenAI, develop the best models that push the field toward new frontiers. Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global standards. The products we build are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and value has never been in a stronger position.
Your process of firing Sam Altman and removing Greg Brockman from the board of directors jeopardized all of our work and undermined our mission and our company. Your actions clearly demonstrate your inability to oversee OpenAI.
When we unexpectedly learned of your decision, OpenAI's leadership team took quick action to stabilize the company. They listened carefully to your concerns and tried to work with you in every aspect. Despite our repeated requests for specific facts about the allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They are also increasingly aware that you are unable to fulfill your responsibilities and are negotiating in bad faith.
The leadership team recommends that the most stable path forward, and the path that is best for our mission, the company, our stakeholders, our employees, and the public, is for you to resign and form a qualified Board of Directors capable of leading the company steadily forward.
The leadership team works with you around the clock to find mutually acceptable solutions. However, within two days of your initial decision, you once again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati without regard to the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed was "consistent with the mission."
Your actions clearly demonstrate your inability to police OpenAI. We cannot work for or with anyone who lacks ability, judgment, and concern for our mission and our people. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly formed Microsoft subsidiary led by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft assured us that if we chose to join this new subsidiary, there would be positions available for all OpenAI employees. We will take this step immediately unless all current board members resign and the board appoints two new independent chairs, Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.