Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has recently faced negative press that has damaged his once-positive reputation. One of the issues raised was the collapse of OpenAI’s safety team, which questioned the company’s commitment to responsible AI development. Additionally, the release of an AI assistant with a voice similar to Scarlett Johansson in the movie “Her” added to Altman’s problems.
Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator and OpenAI, defended Altman amidst this wave of criticism. Graham clarified that Altman had been running both OpenAI and Y Combinator simultaneously until OpenAI announced a new for-profit entity in 2019, at which point he was chosen as the president of the new entity.
Graham and his wife Jessica Livingston, also a co-founder of Y Combinator, gave Altman the option to continue working with Y Combinator or focus solely on OpenAI. They were supportive of his decision to choose OpenAI over Y Combinator and did not want him to leave one role for another.
It is important to note that Axel Springer, parent company of Business Insider, has a global partnership with OpenAI that allows for training its models using content from Axel Springer’s media brands.
