Expressing a lack of confidence in Sam Altman, the board of Open AI announced it had fired the co-founder and CEO on Friday afternoon.
Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, was named interim CEO.
“Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
Greg Brockman, who in 2015 helped co-found ChatGTP’s parent company, was also removed as the company’s president.
Neither he nor Altman had any suspicion of the board’s decision, having been told about it only minutes before the company announced the reshuffling to the public.
Despite being allowed to remain in the company, Brockman has chosen to stand by Altman’s side and leave OpenAI.
“I am super proud of what we’ve all built together since starting in my apartment eight years ago. We’ve been through tough & great times together, accomplishing so much despite all the reasons it should’ve been impossible. But based on today’s news, I quit.”
Both co-founders have expressed their disbelief and astonishment regarding the recent events.
Having become the face of Artificial Intelligence and one of Silicon Valley’s most hyped personalities since the launch of ChatGTP last fall, Altman said that today “has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive.”
Besides OpenAI, Altman is also the face of Worldcoin, a global identity and financial network that has been scanning the iris of people worldwide in return for WLD tokens.
While the traditional finance markets closed their doors shortly after the startling decision was revealed, not giving much time for investors to react, crypto markets are open 24/7.
According to CoinGecko, the price of WLD tokens fell to as low as $1.84 after the news broke and is now at less than 40% than at its all-time high.
What lies ahead for Worldcoin might even be harsher than today’s price plummeting. Already facing intense scepticism due to concerns over its treatment of biometric data and marketing tactics, the project will now have to face the loss of credibility of its CEO and mastermind.
While OpenAI is not a publicly traded company, Worldcoin is out there on the crypto markets. As the future of Sam Altman hangs by a thread, so does Worldcoin’s.
