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Update: Just before midnight, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that Emmett Shear will serve as the interim CEO of OpenAI. Additionally, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and other colleagues leaving OpenAI will join Microsoft to establish a new AI research team.
The situation around Sam Altman’s dismissal as OpenAI CEO by four members of the nonprofit OpenAI board has taken another unexpected turn. As of Sunday night, the board voted in Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, as the interim CEO of OpenAI, according to The Information. Shear is stepping in for Mira Murati, who was the chief technology officer at OpenAI before being temporarily elevated to CEO while the board looked for a permanent replacement.
In the 72 hours following the initial firing, Murati had reportedly allied with Altman and his supporters, including many OpenAI investors and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in an unsuccessful bid to reinstate Altman as CEO.
Emmett Shear recently shared his views on X (formerly Twitter), stating that most CEO responsibilities could be automated with AI, acknowledging that although most tasks can be automated, some critical decisions cannot be replaced.
Altman’s conditions for his return reportedly included the board resigning and absolving him of any wrongdoing. This demand followed OpenAI’s blog post on Friday that accused Altman of not being “consistently candid in his communications with the board,” which hindered the board’s responsibilities. The board expressed a loss of confidence in Altman’s leadership.
The OpenAI board has not publicly clarified what Altman was not candid about or why his dismissal was so abrupt. Currently, the board members include OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors such as Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner from the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Previously, the board also included co-founder and former CEO Sam Altman, and former president Greg Brockman, who was removed from his role as chairman when Altman was fired and resigned in protest.
Despite efforts by Murati, Nadella, and other OpenAI employees and investors to have Altman return, the board pursued separate efforts to hire a new permanent CEO. Reports indicated that board members had contacted at least two high-profile technology executives about taking the CEO role, suggesting a commitment to moving on from Altman’s leadership despite significant pushback.