Sam Altman Fired from OpenAI: NEW Insider Context on the Board’s Decision

Nathan shares his perspective on Sam Altman’s firing from OpenAI, after being a part of the red team for GPT-4 and seeing how the board handled safety concerns. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/cognitive for a $1/month trial period. This is a developing story. This podcast was recorded on 11/21 at 12pm PST. SPONSORS: Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitive With the onset of AI, it’s time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. OCI is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. Train ML models on the cloud’s highest performing NVIDIA GPU clusters. Do more and spend less like Uber, 8x8, and Databricks Mosaic, take a FREE test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/cognitive NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/cognitive and download your own customized KPI checklist. Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off. X/SOCIAL @labenz (Nathan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @CogRev_Podcast TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00) - Preview (00:03:00) - Getting early access to test GPT-4 (00:08:03) - Concerns over OpenAI's slow start on safety after testing GPT-4 (00:15:38) - Sponsors: Shopify | Omneky (00:17:34) - GPT-4's lack of safety measures and willingness to provide harmful information (00:18:20) - GPT-4 suggesting assassination to slow AI progress (00:23:00) - The failure of GPT-4's "safety edition" to properly constrain unsafe behavior (00:29:00) - Sponsors: Netsuite | Oracle (00:29:39) - Discussing concerns over GPT-4 capabilities with AI experts and leaders (00:33:00) - An OpenAI board member not having tried GPT-4 despite its importance (00:36:00) - Getting removed from the GPT-4 testing program by OpenAI (00:44:00) - OpenAI subsequently showing more seriousness on safety after the GPT-4 experience (00:54:00) - An example safety issue in GPT-4 that still persists (01:00:00) - Speculation on what may have triggered the OpenAI board's removal of Sam Altman as CEO (01:06:00) - Altman's "quaint" remark and acknowledgement of GPT-5 training (01:21:57) - The absence of explanation from the board (01:23:56) - How Microsoft will emerge (01:32:36) - Should OpenAI be open source? (01:42:00) - Innane regulation of AI This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co . Producer: Vivian Meng Executive Producers: Natalie Toren, and Erik Torenberg Editor: Graham Bessellieu For inquiries about guests or sponsoring the podcast, please email vivian@turpentine.co