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  • This morning, a blockbuster shake up in the world of artificial intelligence.

  • Just days after he was ousted by the company he co-founded, former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is joining Microsoft and so is another OpenAI co-founder, Greg Brockman.

  • The two men who helped bring ChatGPT to the world will lead Microsoft's new advanced AI research team.

  • So there's been a lot going on.

  • That's why I got CNN's Vanessa Jurkovich.

  • She's here with us now.

  • All right, Vanessa look, there are ongoing negotiations for Altman to return as OpenAI CEO, then he goes to Microsoft.

  • What's been happening here?

  • I don't think that ChatGPT could have written this drama.

  • This has been a lot in 72 hours.

  • So the breaking news that we have now is that 500 employees from OpenAI have sent this letter to the board, which ousted Sam Altman,

  • saying that if you do not resign, if you do not bring back Sam Altman, we will quit and we will join Sam Altman at Microsoft.

  • 500 employees, that's most of the company.

  • But this all goes down on Friday when OpenAI basically pushes Sam Altman out the board, saying that he's not equipped to lead the company right now.

  • He hasn't been very transparent.

  • Behind the scenes, though, what we know is that there's a philosophical difference between Altman wanting to push AI forward and the board who wants to kind of dial the progress of AI back.

  • But what we know is that many employees have already followed Altman, including his co-founder Greg Brockman.

  • Over the weekend, we saw a photo of Altman at OpenAI's offices, maybe talks of bringing him back again.

  • That did not happen.

  • That's where you enter Microsoft.

  • They have invested $13 billion into OpenAI.

  • They own 49% of the company.

  • Just this morning, we're hearing that they have hired Altman to now run artificial intelligence at Microsoft.

  • And just moments ago, we heard from one of the board members who was part of that four person board that fired Altman.

  • And he says he actually regrets the fact that he's created all this chaos at OpenAI.

  • He's also one of the more than 500 people who has signed this open letter, calling for the board to resign, which means including himself.

  • This all matters because artificial intelligence is here.

  • It is the future.

  • There are serious conversations about whether or not it's moving too fast.

  • Can it be weaponized?

  • What does it mean for all of us?

  • There are so many businesses that rely on ChatGPT every single day.

  • I just want to read a quick quote from an analyst, Dan Ivers, who puts this perfectly.

  • I think he says, in a nutshell, "The J.V. four-person board at OpenAI was at the kids poker table and they thought they won until Nadella and Microsoft took this all over in a World Series game of poker move for the ages with the Valley and Wall Street watching.

  • This is going to continue to unfold over today, but just so much in 72 hours, changing the game of A.I.

  • So much has happened and I'm sure so much more.

  • Vanessa Jurkovich, thank you so much.

  • That is Stewart joins me from London.

  • Honestly, I mean, the fallout from the board decision could not be more consequential.

  • Some 500 of the 700 employees threatening to quit the company.

  • Just explain what's going on here and why this weekend's news was so significant.

  • It is hard to keep up with what has been one of the most spectacular corporate fallouts.

  • I think I can remember really in terms of a board firing a CEO very suddenly, seeing the fallout from investors, but also within the company, and this is just the latest.

  • This is a letter to the board of directors of OpenAI.

  • As you mentioned, over 500 employees have agreed to this.

  • And when I say it's the letter to the board of directors, Becky, there were six directors as of last week.

  • One was fired, Sam Altman.

  • The other co-founder, Greg Brockman, actually resigned on the basis of this news.

  • And a third is actually signing this letter.

  • So it was almost a letter to themselves at this stage, which means there are three directors are being very much targeted by this letter.

  • And I'll just highlight a few bits that we've had in the last hour.

  • It says they believe the board is incapable of overseeing OpenAI.

  • They say they may choose to resign and join Microsoft with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, join that new entity. They be in a show. They have positions.

  • And these are their terms.

  • They say they will take the step imminently unless all current board members resign.

  • That's the three I mentioned.

  • And the board appoints two new lead independent directors.

  • They mentioned a couple and reinstate Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.

  • So that is the most extraordinary laying down of the law from over 500 employees.

  • The CTO and a board member on that as well.

  • So now you have to wonder, is the Microsoft move going to happen or are we going to see a complete rejig again at the top?

  • And are we going to see Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, going back to open?

  • Just a reminder for those who you know, for those you are in the kind of, you know, in the weeds of AI, they may not know who he is.

  • This guy is a very, very, very significant player, not just in business, but in US and global politics these days as well.

  • He's become the biggest voice, really, when we talk about artificial intelligence.

  • He's the loudest voice at least.

  • They're all just a handful of companies really running the AI debate I guess, in terms of a few companies that lead the way.

  • There's Google DeepMind with Demis Hassabis and the Sam Altman with OpenAI.

  • He is the biggest voice.

  • He's one of the co-founders of the company.

  • There are quite a few co-founders there, but he's become very vocal and very eloquent, particularly, as you mentioned, at Senate committee hearings and the political level.

  • You see him on the international stage, and he's very vocal on Twitter.

  • And one of the big questions for all of us, right on Friday was why has he been fired from the board?

  • And there's lots of speculation about this from the company.

  • We actually didn't get very much.

  • There was something about a lack of communication with the board, but no more detail.

  • Other people wonder whether his popularity had eclipsed the board, and therefore, frankly, they lost control of what some of them wanted to do with the company,

  • or whether his part in terms of trying to commercialize the profit part of OpenAI, because it is a nonprofit entity generally, whether they felt that was undermining or risking AI safety.

  • Where's he going?

  • Well, he signed up for Microsoft, but as of the last hour, this letter from over 500 employees demanding he goes back to OpenAI.

  • You have to wonder, Becky. Check back next hour.

  • Good stuff. Thanks.

This morning, a blockbuster shake up in the world of artificial intelligence.

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