Helen Toner, a former OpenAI board member who helped remove CEO Sam Altman in November before he was promptly rehired, recently shared insights into the events that led to Altman’s firing.of CEO Sam Altman in November. Toner revealed that Altman had been withholding information, misrepresenting company happenings, and even lying to the board, making it difficult for them to fulfill their role of ensuring the company’s public good mission remained a priority.
“The board is a nonprofit board that was set up explicitly for the purpose of making sure that the company’s public good mission was primary, was coming first — over profits, investor interests, and other things,” Toner explained. However, she stated that Altman’s actions over the years had made it nearly impossible for the board to carry out their duties effectively.
In October, a month before Altman’s removal, the board had conversations with two executives who shared their experiences with Altman, including screenshots and documentation of problematic interactions and mistruths. The executives described a toxic atmosphere and expressed their belief that Altman was not the right person to lead the company to artificial general intelligence .