The OpenAI management saga, which began two weeks ago when the organization’s board unexpectedly fired CEO Sam Altman, and which has since featured a series of Succession-worthy twists and turns, seems to be nearing an end. It’s still not entirely clear why Altman was fired in the first place. (Many accounts suggested the board was concerned that Altman was being reckless in his race to commercialize OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence technology, but board members and the company’s interim CEO have said that was not the problem.) But what is clear is that he has emerged on top: He was restored as CEO after 95% of the company’s employees threatened to quit, and in a memo to employees last week wrote that he is “so looking forward to finishing the job of building beneficial AGI with you all—best team in the world, best mission in the world.”
Three of the four board members who voted to oust Altman, meanwhile, are gone, with the new board currently consisting of just three people—chair Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and holdover Adam D’Angelo. And those three are, according to a memo from Taylor, planning to re-make the governance structures at OpenAI, including expanding........