OpenAI Faces Turmoil as Ilya Sutskever Resigns, GPT-4o Launches Amid Equity Controversy

May 19, 2024, 12:08 AM

OpenAI is facing significant internal turmoil as several high-profile members of its safety team, including Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, have resigned. The departures come amid accusations that the company is prioritizing product development and consumer applications over AI safety. Former employees have alleged that OpenAI threatened to revoke vested equity if they did not sign non-disparagement agreements. OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman and Greg Brockman have publicly responded, stating that the company has never actually stripped anyone of their vested equity. The controversy has raised concerns about the future direction of OpenAI's AI safety efforts, especially with the recent launch of GPT-4o and the ongoing development of ChatGPT.