Les montagnes russes pour la lutte pour le leadership dans la course à l'IA
Kara Swisher, journaliste américaine et grand reporter technologique de la Silicon Valley, s'est plongée dans la situation et a rapporté ce qu'elle a entendu de l'intérieur de l'entreprise, tout en apportant ses propres réflexions via une série de fils de discussion sur X (anciennement Twitter):
Théorie n° 1 - Chronique d'un coup d’État ou la poursuite de l'argent en dépit du bon sens
Sources tell me that the profit direction of the company under Altman and the speed of development, which could be seen as too risky, and the nonprofit side dedicated to more safety and caution were at odds. One person on the Sam side called it a “coup,” while another said it was the right move. This seems more plausible, but the tech community is also rife with rumors of all kinds, some really out there. A lot of questionable incomings, for sure.
— Kara Swisher
Théorie n° 2 - Le facteur Sutskever: Un conflit qui a atteint son paroxysme
Sources tell me chief scientist Ilya Sutskever was at the center of this. Increasing tensions with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman over role and influence and he got the board on his side. [...] The developer day and how the store was introduced was in inflection moment of Altman pushing too far, too fast. My bet: He’ll have a new company up by Monday.
— Kara Swisher
Théorie n°3 - Altman démasqué: La contestation au sein du conseil d'administration concernant les allégations de manipulation et le comportement intransigeant du PDG
The board members who voted against Altman felt he was manipulative and headstrong and wanted to do what he wanted to do. That sounds like a typical Silicon Valley CEO to me, but this might not be a typical Silicon Valley company. They certainly have a lot of explaining to do. Would be eager to hear actual specifics of their concerns and also evidence that they tried to inform him if they had problems and gave him a chance to respond and change. If not, it looks cloddish.
— Kara Swisher
Pour ce qui est du rôle de Sutskever et des rapports selon lesquels Altman explore depuis un certain temps d'autres projets commerciaux, Alex Heath, de The Verge, semble avoir eu vent des mêmes informations:
Like Kara Swisher, I’ve heard that Sutskever, who leads the OpenAI’s research team – and not the applied side of the house that brings products to market – was instrumental in the ousting of Altman and that this all went down very recently. [...] Altman was recently talking to Jony Ive about doing something in AI and consumer hardware, though no company has been formed [...] Logic says that, ultimately, this was a battle over two warring factions. Sutskever, who has been steadily beating the drum about the dangers of superintelligent AI, seems to have won.
— The Verge
Dans ce contexte, le Wall Street Journal a rapporté que Sutskever est celui qui a annoncé à Altman qu'il avait été licencié.
Une réponse immédiate – comment cela s'est-il terminé?
Quoi qu'il en soit, Altman et Brockman étaient prêts à revenir chez OpenAI si les membres restants du conseil d'administration qui avaient congédié Altman se retiraient:
The promised mass exodus of virtually every OpenAI employee — including board member and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who led the initial move to depose Altman! — means that there is more pressure on the board than ever, with only two of the three remaining members needing to flip. Altman posted on X that “we are all going to work together some way or other,” which we are told is meant to indicate that the fight continues. [...] Altman, former president Brockman, and the company’s investors are still trying to find a graceful exit for the board, say multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The sources characterized the hiring announcement by Microsoft, which needed to have a resolution to the crisis before the stock market opened on Monday, as a ‘holding pattern.’
— The Verge
Altman – appuyé par les principaux actionnaires d'OpenAI, dont Microsoft et Thrive Capital – souhaitait le remplacement de l'ensemble du conseil d'administration comme condition à son retour et avait déjà commencé à planifier la création d'une nouvelle entreprise avec d'autres employés d'OpenAI qui venaient de quitter l'entreprise.
Néanmoins, peu après le licenciement d'Altman, les investisseurs d'OpenAI se sont mobilisés pour le réintégrer, et le conseil d'administration a commencé à discuter avec Altman de son retour, même s'il était apparemment “ambivalent” à ce sujet et qu'il exigeait d'importants changements en matière de gouvernance dans l'éventualité où il reviendrait.
La menace d'un exode massif des employés d'OpenAI, notamment de la part de Sutskever, a exercé une pression immense en faveur d’un remaniement complet du conseil d'administration. Ce bras de fer entre les employés sortants et les membres restants du conseil d'administration a finalement abouti à la réintégration de Altman.
