OpenAI's Employees Threaten to Quit in Protest of Leadership Change

Most OpenAI's employees are prepared to resign if the board fails to appoint Sam Altman as CEO and its members abstain from office.

In a letter first published online by veteran technology journalist Kara Swisher, more than 500 of OpenAI's approximately 770 employees demanded the resignation of the four-person board responsible for Altman's dismissal.

The letter reads, "We cannot work for or with individuals who lack competence, judgment, and concern for our mission and employees."

The employees also threatened to resign from the ChatGPT developer and join the recently disclosed Microsoft subsidiary led by Altman and Greg Brockman, claiming to have received confirmation from Microsoft that the company has openings for every OpenAI employee.

Open AI's Employees Regretted to be involved

Mira Murati, chief technology officer of OpenAI and a former interim CEO, and Ilya Sutskever, a board member suspected of involvement in Altman's unexpected dismissal on Friday, were among the document's signatories but regretted being part of the decision.

"My participation in the board's actions is profoundly regretted. OpenAI was never intended to be harmed, Sutskever said. As posted on Fox News on Monday, she added, "I cherish everything we've accomplished together, and I will do everything in my power to reunite the company."

Furthermore, Emmett Shear, the co-founder and former CEO of game-streaming website Twitch, was appointed interim CEO of OpenAI on Sunday night, replacing Murati, after an attempt to reinstate Altman failed.

Thus, the sudden departure of Altman, Brockman, and other top OpenAI experts makes people wonder what will happen to the company, which has become one of the world's most valuable tech startups in a concise amount of time.

Director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Insititute Sarah Kreps emphasized, "If the architects and vision and brains behind these products have now left, the company will be a shell of what it once was."

Accused of Not Being Consistent

The OpenAI board terminated Altman on Friday because they accused him of not being "consistently candid in his communications" with the board.

Meanwhile, Brockman, president of OpenAI and co-founder of the organization that produced the well-known software ChatGPT, declared his resignation on Fox News late that evening.

That same day, Shear wrote on Fox News that he would hire a third party to investigate Altman's firing and write a report within 30 days. "It's clear that the process and communications around Sam's removal have been mishandled," he said.

In addition, Shear said he would "drive changes in the organization," which could mean "significant changes in governance if necessary."

He added that the board didn't fire Altman because of a "specific disagreement on safety."

The New Street experts said that OpenAI, as it was on Thursday, is no longer in business, no matter how the drama at the company plays out. "We expect that either the quartet will be forced to resign, or OpenAI staff will run away, and the quartet will be left by themselves," AI's Employees shared with investors in a report.

Last week, OpenAI wouldn't say what it meant when it told Altman was allegedly not being honest. In its statement, the board noted that Altman's actions made it harder for them to do their jobs.