Happily Ever After at OpenAI?
If tech employees can reverse the firing of CEO Sam Altman, it sets a powerful precedent.
I’ll be totally honest. When I saw yet another story about the ouster of a powerful, privileged white male CEO named “Sam,” at first I didn’t pay much attention. The tech industry has its share of drama — and there are as many reasons to be concerned as optimistic about the future of AI. My biggest concern was whether I had bought shares of Microsoft (MSFT) too late in the news cycle.
I’m no longer too worried about that. The resolution of the crisis has generated plenty of good karma for Microsoft and its front man, Satya Nadella. We shall see what government regulators and the marketplace have in store for ChatGPT. Today’s news seems like a best case scenario for the privately held OpenAI. Harvard Law celebrity professor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has joined the new board, along with Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce (CRM). Microsoft will likely also have representation.
The most interesting thing about this story is that OpenAI’s employees took on their board… and won. Altman was reinstated as a direct result of a letter signed by 702 of the company’s 770 employees — in which they threatened to quit en masse and follow their old boss to Microsoft. The entire action was organized just a few hours after the Board announced that he had been fired. If tech workers can mobilize and achieve results this quickly, what else might they be capable of?
So far people in this sector have had little incentive to unionize, because their skills are in demand and they are highly paid. Could we see knowledge workers leading the charge for greater representation and a role in decision making and management? Stranger things have happened. Don’t count systems thinkers out.