How AI Doomerism Caused OpenAI’s Sam Altman Firing Fiasco
It’s been a whirlwind few days for the startup at the heart of the artificial intelligence revolution—but they only have themselves to blame.
. . .Several months ago in May, he remarked that “women can get no-strings-attached hookups, men can get long term commitment.” And in August, Shear wrote: “Using gen ai to write pickup lines for the apps … call that shooting my zero-shot.” (It’s unclear whether this was a joke.)
Shear had not responded to a request for comment by publication time.
In his previous role as CEO of Twitch, Shear faced criticism for his handling of sexual abuse claims made against creators at the streaming platform. One Twitch streamer alleged that Shear, when asked in a meeting about abusive creators, “laughed off” the question and declined to comment. Shear responded by publicly posting a letter he wrote to employees about the allegations, commending the bravery of victims coming forward and pledging to do more to support women and communities of color on the platform. “If at some point you’ve heard my comments and felt they were dismissive or that Twitch doesn’t care, I’m sorry that happened and I want you to know that in no way was that my intent,” he wrote in the letter. . .
On Sunday, Shear tweeted about his new role as OpenAI’s interim CEO, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” that he accepted because of his belief that the company is “one of the most important” in existence. He cited the birth of his son as the reason for his resignation from Twitch in March.
- Shear’s new status as CEO of one of the hottest companies in AI comes after a tumultuous weekend following the OpenAI board’s decision to fire Altman on Friday. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and OpenAI cofounder and president Greg Brockman, who had resigned in protest, would be joining the company to head up a new research group on Sunday night.
- By Monday morning, the vast majority of OpenAI’s employees had threatened to resign if Altman was not reinstated.
Shear has reportedly been unable to get written documentation of the board’s rationale for firing Altman, according to the Verge, who noted that OpenAI employees responded to an announcement of Shear’s hiring with a “fuck you” emoji. OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla has publicly called for Shear to resign.
Shear appears to be affiliated with the effective altruism community, which has been blamed by some for influencing the removal of Altman and departure of Brockman. (The company has still not disclosed a clear reason for Altman’s firing.) Effective altruism, or EA, is a philosophy that has become increasingly powerful throughout Silicon Valley, and advocates for the strategic spending of wealth to fix the world’s largest problems. It has become known for an alleged prevalence of polyamorous relationships — the highest-profile of these being the romantic group of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who identified as an effective altruist. Several EA members have been accused of sexual abuse and harassment by women within the community.
In September, Shear was a speaker at “Manifest 2023,” a conference in Berkeley, California organized by EA-aligned prediction market platform, Manifold, where he gave a talk on the future of trust and evidence in the age of AI.
OpenAI board members Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley and Adam D’Angelo each have connections to EA, though it’s unclear whether any of them currently identify as members.
When asked by someone on X how he became OpenAI’s interim CEO, Shear replied: “Rapidly and unexpectedly.”
OpenAI’s New CEO Likes Tweeting About Sex And Using AI To Write Pickup Lines
Incoming exec Emmett Shear has regularly tweeted about sexual dynamics between men and women and the controversial pick-up artistry manual The Game.
OpenAI Employees Replied ‘Fuck You’ When Asked to Meet New CEO
THAT WENT WELL
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