OpenAI's board abruptly fired CEO Sam Altman on November 17, 2023, citing lack of candor in his communications, after senior leaders complained he pitted employees against each other, gave conflicting information to board members, and retaliated against critical feedback. Chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, frustrated by being sidelined from ChatGPT-5 decisions and concerned about rapid AI development, supported the removal but later expressed regret. The dismissal triggered massive employee backlash, with staff sending a letter threatening mass resignation, ultimately forcing Altman's reinstatement with Microsoft's backing. The conflict exposed tensions between board members focused on AI safety and nonprofit governance versus Altman's aggressive commercial expansion, with board member Helen Toner having criticized OpenAI's rushed ChatGPT release in an October 2023 paper praising rival Anthropic.
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