Microsoft has been left in a somewhat uncomfortable situation after the dismissal and subsequent reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI. Some experts consider that the corporation has emerged the winner in this struggle for power within the startup. Others believe that those from Redmond have suffered a “bath of reality” and that their lack of representation on the organization’s board of directors could have cost them dearly.
The truth is that, now that Sam Altman returns to OpenAI, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to take a look at the chaotic days they have experienced. In a message signed by Kevin Scottchief technology officer and executive vice president of artificial intelligence, the Seattle firm explained its point of view on this situation to its employees.
In the memo, obtained by The VergeMicrosoft executive ratifies the company’s commitment to continue working with OpenAI. However, he makes it clear that the events since last Friday do not have to become a distraction.
“Despite the potential of the last few days to distract us, scientists and engineers at Microsoft and OpenAl have been working with absolute urgency,” Scott noted. Thus, he appreciated the launch of new voice features for ChatGPT. As well as the implementation of more computing power for AI in Azure data centers.
Although the truly curious thing is something else. At no point does Scott mention What will happen to the new advanced artificial intelligence research team that the corporation planned to found. This division would function as a subsidiary of Microsoft and would be under the control of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. However, the continuity of both executives at OpenAI could have forced that plan to be thrown overboard.
Microsoft ratifies its commitment to OpenAI
Launching a new branch of Microsoft dedicated to advanced artificial intelligence may It no longer makes sense without Altman and Brockman. Let us remember that, after the first one was fired, practically all OpenAI employees threatened to resign and go to Redmond.
Now that that talent—or most of it, at least—will remain in San Francisco, California, it stands to reason that the plan to create that subsidiary has been scrapped. The lack of reference to the matter in Kevin Scott’s message could be proof of this, although, of course, the last word is never said.
For now, Microsoft has reaffirmed its desire to continue working with OpenAI. “We will continue to support our colleagues at OpenAl and the phenomenal work they have been doing alongside us in service of that mission [desarrollar los mejores productos y servicios basados en IA]. As we have for over 4 years, we look forward to continuing our work with Sam and his team,” said Scott.
Satya NadellaCEO of Redmond, took advantage of his account on X (Twitter) to reflect about the chaos of OpenAI. “These past 5 days, I’ve seen people at OpenAI stay calm and determined to drive their mission forward despite everything happening around them. And I’ve seen people across Microsoft stay focused on our mission and serving our customers. and partners, stepping up to help in every way possible,” he posted.
Microsoft has likely scrapped its plan to launch a 100% AI-focused subsidiary with Sam Altman at the helm. Although it would not be strange that, in the midst of the conflictive scenario that OpenAI has gone through in recent days, has managed to attract an employee willing to change companies. Let’s not forget that Kevin Scott offered the startup’s workers match your compensation (salary, bonuses, etc.) if they were willing to join Microsoft.