Lauren Goode: I’m Lauren Goode. I’m a senior writer at WIRED.
Zoë Schiffer: My name is Zoe Schiffer and I am WIRED’s director of business and industry.
Michael Calore: OK. I want to start today by going back a year, to November 2023, to the event we call a turning point.
Lauren Goode: Flash. We don’t just call it a blip. This is actually an internal phrase used at OpenAI to describe the most disordered three to four days in the company’s history.
[archival audio]: : OpenAI, one of the leading players in artificial intelligence, has fallen into disarray.
[archival audio]: : One of the most spectacular corporate conflicts.
[archival audio]: : Today’s news on Wall Street is about some stunning developments in the world of artificial intelligence.
Zoë Schiffer: It really started on November 17, a Friday afternoon, when Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, received what he says was the most surprising, shocking and challenging news of his professional career.
[archival audio]: : The shocking firing of former boss Sam Altman.
[archival audio]: : His shot sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley.
Zoë Schiffer: The board of OpenAI, which was then a non-profit organization, is said to have lost confidence in him. Even though the company is doing incredibly well by every measure, he’s out. He will no longer lead the company.
Michael Calore: He was effectively fired from the company he co-founded.
Zoë Schiffer: Yes. This immediately sets off a chain reaction of events. His co-founder and company president, Greg Brockman, is stepping down in solidarity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Sam Altman will actually join Microsoft and lead an advanced artificial intelligence research team there. We then see almost the entire OpenAI employee base sign a letter saying, “Wait, wait, wait. If Sam leaves, we leave too.
[archival audio]: : About 500 of these 700+ employees…
[archival audio]: : … threatened to quit following the board’s sudden firing of popular OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Zoë Schiffer: Tense negotiations eventually ensue between Sam Altman and the board of directors, and the board appoints Mira Murati, CTO, as interim CEO. Soon after, Sam manages to reach an agreement with the board and returns as CEO, and the board immediately looks different – Brett Taylor and Larry Summers join, Adam D’Angelo stays, and the rest of the board leaves.