Lauren Goode: I’m Lauren Goode. I’m a senior writer at WIRED.
Zoe Schiffer: I’m Zoe Schiffer, commercial and industrial director of WIRED.
Michael Calore: OK. I want to start today by going back one year, to November 2023, to an event we call the blip.
Lauren Goode: The inconvenience. We don’t just call it a “blip.” This is actually the internal phrase used by OpenAI to describe some of the most chaotic three or four days in the company’s history.
(archive audio): The company OpenAI, a major player in the field of artificial intelligence, thrown into disarray.
(archive audio): One of the most spectacular corporate consequences.
(archive audio): Today’s news on Wall Street is about surprising developments in the world of artificial intelligence.
Zoe Schiffer: It all really started on November 17, this Friday afternoon, when Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, received what he believes is the most surprising, shocking and difficult news of his professional career.
(archive audio): The shock firing of former boss, Sam Altman.
(archive audio): His dismissal sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley.
Zoe Schiffer: The board of directors of OpenAI, which was a nonprofit at the time, lost confidence in him, he says. Despite the fact that the company is doing incredibly well, he is out. He will no longer lead the company.
Michael Calore: He was actually fired from the company he co-founded.
Zoe Schiffer: Yes. This immediately sets off a chain reaction of events. His co-founder and company president, Greg Brockman, is resigning in solidarity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Sam Altman will indeed join Microsoft and lead an advanced AI research group. Then we see almost the entire OpenAI employee base sign a letter that says, “Wait, wait, wait. If Sam goes, we go too.
(archive audio): Approximately 500 of these more than 700 employees—
(archive audio): … threatening to resign over the board’s sudden firing of popular OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Zoe Schiffer: Ultimately there’s this tense negotiation back and forth between Sam Altman and the board of directors, and ultimately the board installs Mira Murati, the CTO, as interim CEO. Then, shortly thereafter, Sam manages to reach an agreement with the board and returns as CEO and the board immediately looks different, with Brett Taylor and Larry Summers joining, Adam D’Angelo staying and the rest of the board leaving .
