OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responds to Elon Musk’s criticism of the company’s direction
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has responded to criticism from Elon Musk. Musk, one of the founders of OpenAI, recently tweeted that the company had strayed from its intended purpose and became a profit-driven entity. Musk’s tweet was sparked by a question about why he helped establish OpenAI, given his concerns about the risks posed by AI and the need for regulation.
Musk explained that OpenAI was initially created as a non-profit open-source organization to provide a counterbalance to Google. But it has since become a closed-source, profit-driven company under the control of Microsoft.
“OpenAI has become a maximum profit company…, which was not what he intended at all,” Musk recently said.
Sam Altman has now replied to Elon Musk’s comments
In a podcast episode of “On With Kara Swisher,” Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, responded to Elon Musk’s recent criticism of the company. Altman emphasized that Microsoft does not control OpenAI and that Microsoft does not have any representation on OpenAI’s board.
Sam Altman also suggested that most of Musk’s comments were unfounded and likely arose out of concern. Altman’s remarks indicate a disagreement between Musk and OpenAI’s leadership regarding the company’s trajectory and its association with Microsoft.
“To say a positive thing about Elon, I think he does care about a good future with AGI,” said Altman. “I mean, he’s a jerk, whatever else you want to say about him — he has a style that is not a style that I’d want to have for myself,” Altman told Swisher. “But I think he does care, and he is feeling very stressed about what the future’s going to look like for humanity,” he added.
In 2015, Elon Musk helped establish OpenAI with other notable figures from Silicon Valley, such as Sam Altman, Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel. The group collectively committed $1 billion to the initiative. The company was initially a non-profit organization, but it relinquished that status in 2019.
