In AI, Capital Wins Again
The OpenAI saga – in which founder and CEO Sam Altman was suddenly fired and then reinstated, together with a new governing board – may have been enthralling, but it was neither novel nor surprising. Historically, capital usually wins out when there are competing visions for the future of an innovative product or business model.
NEW YORK – Already on a long winning spree, capital has just scored another big victory in a clash over the ethics of artificial intelligence. In the drama over OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s sudden firing and rehiring, a non-profit company with a mission to prioritize AI safety over profits has failed spectacularly to keep its for-profit offspring on a leash.