Sam Altman may have just revealed why ‘smartest people’ at OpenAI quit

Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently offered an explanation for why so many top researchers and executives – some of them co-founders – left the company to start their own artificial intelligence (AI) ventures. He hinted that when the stakes feel this high concerning a particular technology, people only trust themselves. In a recent exchange on Raj Shamani’s podcast, Altman was asked why there appears to be so much friction in the AI industry-, and why, despite OpenAI starting the AI wave, so many people are breaking away to build their own competing projects. “I think there is something that happens in many people's brains where they only trust themselves to build this because the stakes feel so high,” Altman said. He was referring to OpenAI co-founders Elon Musk and Ilya Sutskever, ex-chief technology officer (CTO) Mira Murati and former vice president of research at OpenAI Dario Amodei.

Clash over approach and power

The conversation pressed further into what actually drives those departures. Shamani asked whether the tension was rooted in disagreements over how AI should be built, or was it a deeper fear of too much power sitting in one person’s hands. According to Altman, those two concerns are directly connected. “I think it's somehow this approach is bad and so I can't let power get concentrated in his hands. Something like that,” Altman explained, adding, “It's approach and trust.” His comments point to a simple reality behind the industry's frequent spin-offs: when builders disagree with a company’s direction, they don’t just see it as a difference of opinion – they view it as a reason they cannot afford to let someone else hold the reins.

OpenAI board sacked Sam Altman

Sam Altman, who is considered by many as the poster boy of Al, was replaced as CEO by the OpenAl board in November 2023, and replaced by Murati for some time. According to a statement released by the company at that time, Altman’s departure followed 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 had confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAl. OpenAl's board of directors consisted of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology's Helen Toner. Altman was later reinstated as the company CEO with several key executives leaving the company soon after.