'Crazy warning' I gave after I got fired and came back is coming ..., says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has hit back at Facebook-parent Meta ’s hiring of its top AI talent. The CEO, according to a Wired report, has sent an internal message to its researchers on Slack, saying OpenAI is the only answer for those looking to build artificial general intelligence (AGI). dismissing Meta’s efforts to poach its workers, Altman said that what the social media giant is doing will lead to deep cultural problems down the road. In the Slack message, Altman said that the ‘craziest’ prediction he made after he got fired and came back to the company is coming true.
He said: “We have gone from some nerds in the corner to the most interesting people in the tech industry (at least)”. He further added: “AI Twitter is toxic; Meta is acting in a way that feels somewhat distasteful; I assume things will get even crazier in the future. After I got fired and came back I said that was not the craziest thing that would happen in OpenAl history; certainly neither is this.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: Missionaries will beat mercenaries
Stating that “missionaries will beat mercenaries”, Altman revealed that the company is assessing compensation for the entire research organization. “I believe there is much, much more upside to OpenAl stock than Meta stock,” he said, adding “But I think it's important that huge upside comes after huge success; what Meta is doing will, in my opinion, lead to very deep cultural problems. We will have more to share about this soon but it's very important to me we do it fairly and not just for people who Meta happened to target.”
In his note to OpenAI employees, Altman said Meta had to go “quite far down their list’ in recruiting its AI staff, adding he has “lost track of how many people from here they've tried to get to be their Chief Scientist”.
He wrote: “Meta has gotten a few great people for sure, but on the whole, it is hard to overstate how much they didn't get their top people and had to go quite far down their list; they have been trying to recruit people for a super long time, and I've lost track of how many people from here they've tried to get to be their Chief Scientist. I am proud of how mission-oriented our industry is as a whole; of course there will always be some mercenaries.”
Sam Altman on why people should remain at OpenAI
In the note, Altman urged employees to stay at OpenAI. He wrote: “I have never been more confident in our research roadmap. We are making an unprecedented bet on compute, but I love that we are doing it and I'm confident we will make good use of it. Most importantly of all, I think we have the most special team and culture in the world. We have work to do to improve our culture for sure; we have been through insane hypergrowth. But we have the core right in a way that I don't think anyone else quite does, and I'm confident we can fix the problems.”
“And maybe more importantly than that, we actually care about building AGI in a good way,” he added. “Other companies care more about this as an instrumental goal to some other mission. But this is our top thing, and always will be. Long after Meta has moved on to their next flavor of the week, or defending their social moat, we will be here, day after day, year after year, figuring out how to do what we do better than anyone else. A lot of other efforts will rise and fall too.”
He said: “We have gone from some nerds in the corner to the most interesting people in the tech industry (at least)”. He further added: “AI Twitter is toxic; Meta is acting in a way that feels somewhat distasteful; I assume things will get even crazier in the future. After I got fired and came back I said that was not the craziest thing that would happen in OpenAl history; certainly neither is this.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: Missionaries will beat mercenaries
Stating that “missionaries will beat mercenaries”, Altman revealed that the company is assessing compensation for the entire research organization. “I believe there is much, much more upside to OpenAl stock than Meta stock,” he said, adding “But I think it's important that huge upside comes after huge success; what Meta is doing will, in my opinion, lead to very deep cultural problems. We will have more to share about this soon but it's very important to me we do it fairly and not just for people who Meta happened to target.”
In his note to OpenAI employees, Altman said Meta had to go “quite far down their list’ in recruiting its AI staff, adding he has “lost track of how many people from here they've tried to get to be their Chief Scientist”.
He wrote: “Meta has gotten a few great people for sure, but on the whole, it is hard to overstate how much they didn't get their top people and had to go quite far down their list; they have been trying to recruit people for a super long time, and I've lost track of how many people from here they've tried to get to be their Chief Scientist. I am proud of how mission-oriented our industry is as a whole; of course there will always be some mercenaries.”
Sam Altman on why people should remain at OpenAI
In the note, Altman urged employees to stay at OpenAI. He wrote: “I have never been more confident in our research roadmap. We are making an unprecedented bet on compute, but I love that we are doing it and I'm confident we will make good use of it. Most importantly of all, I think we have the most special team and culture in the world. We have work to do to improve our culture for sure; we have been through insane hypergrowth. But we have the core right in a way that I don't think anyone else quite does, and I'm confident we can fix the problems.”
“And maybe more importantly than that, we actually care about building AGI in a good way,” he added. “Other companies care more about this as an instrumental goal to some other mission. But this is our top thing, and always will be. Long after Meta has moved on to their next flavor of the week, or defending their social moat, we will be here, day after day, year after year, figuring out how to do what we do better than anyone else. A lot of other efforts will rise and fall too.”
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