AI requires careful handling to benefit humanity. At its worst, it can become an existential threat for humanity. AI can facilitate autonomous weapons systems which can identify targets with precision. AI can generate surveillance systems to help authoritarian regimes. AI can enable cloning abilities among criminals to carry out scams.
At the same time, AI can do a lot of good. It has the potential to be a game changer. It can perform hard tasks such drug discovery, management of nuclear power plants and telecom networks, management of power grids and road and air traffic, management of mining.
In a couple of years, NASSCOM puts the benefit to India due to AI-related activity at $450-500 billion to India’s output.
Thus, both the boardrooms and regulators will have to make numerous adjustments while dealing with AI.
The employees of OpenAI were overwhelmingly in favour of the outsted CEO, since he was seen to be driving the commercialization of ChatGPT which is not much ahead of Bard, Llama or Grok of competitors. The employees want to encash their skills, and get stock options if the subsidiary gets listed. It is normal to expect this in Silicon Valley.
Altman, after his return from a few days exile, had a hero’s return. Before the turmoil, the six member Board had three staff members and three independent directors, and was commited to effective altruism. After the turmoil, the Board with nine members may have at least one seat (say as an observer) for Microsoft. It is not yet clear how the independent Board members responsible for Altman’s ouster will be dealt with. They have agreed to step down. Though Quora’s D’Angelo voted against Altman, he continues after change of heart. OpenAI’s structure as a non-profit organisation and a for-profit company is difficult to balance. And the Board answered to the moral instincts only. This set-up was problematic for Microsoft, with 49% stake in OpenAI with no Board seat. The CEO will be more accountable to Microsoft henceforth. The new Board will neutralise the overarching influence of the Board on for-profit activities of the company.
Microsoft’s creating an OpenAI team would not have worked so well. As an independent unit OpenAI so far takes all the flak for corporate reputation and legality while deploying ChatGPT and DALL-E2 in the market. OpenAI remains a startup, and can fiddle with cutting-edge AI technology.
Microsoft keeps intact all its glow. and with none of its liability. Besides, it can exercise more control. It is a better deal for Microsoft to have OpenAI as a free unit than to have OpenAI inhouse.
A story has been floating around that some employees wrote a letter to the Board pointing out the development of an algorithm that could be a breakthrough in AGI. It solved certain math problems. It makes them optimistic about future success. It solves the problems for which it has not been trained. It means it has certain reasoning abilities. The project was code-named Q* or Q Star. In fact, the company was pushing the veil of ignorance back and and the frontier of discovery forward. However, this triggered Altman’s ouster.