🔥 OpenAI’s identity crisis and the battle for AI’s future

And why this might not be a bad thing

I normally send my commentary to Premium members of Exponential View only. However, given the rapid developments, and the ripple-effects the events of this weekend may have for the ongoing debate on AI safety, I will keep this piece open to the public for the time-being. Share it with anyone who wants to make sense of what the OpenAI’s crisis means.

Back in 2020, I had a long conversation with Sam Altman about the role of OpenAI’s board and how he thought governance of the organisation might change. Looking back, Sam’s answers were prescient.

Azeem Azhar: I’m curious about what you think a Global Compact [for AI], might look like in the next few years, where we feel we can get these technologies working for humanity, but in a way that is well-governed.

Sam Altman: It’s a super important question. We can study history and see how that goes. When there is no public oversight, when you have these companies that are as powerful as, or more powerful than, most nations and are governed by une…