Lauren Goode: I'm Lauren Goode. I'm a senior writer at WIRED.
Zoë Schiffer: I'm Zoe Schiffer, WIRED's director of business and industry.
Michael Calore: OK. I want to start today by going back a year in the past, November 2023, to an event we call the blip.
Lauren Goode: The bleep. We don't just call it the blip. That's basically the internal phrase used at OpenAI to describe some of the most chaotic three to four days in the company's history.
[archival audio]: The company OpenAI, one of the top players in the field of artificial intelligence, was in turmoil.
[archival audio]: One of the most spectacular business effects.
[archival audio]: Today's news on Wall Street is about the stunning developments in the world of artificial intelligence.
Zoë Schiffer: It really started on November 17, this Friday afternoon, when Sam Altman, the company's CEO, received what he considers the most surprising, shocking and difficult news of his professional career.
[archival audio]: The shock firing of former boss Sam Altman.
[archival audio]: His shots sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley.
Zoë Schiffer: The board of OpenAI, then a nonprofit organization, has lost confidence in him, it says. Despite the fact that the company is doing incredibly well in all respects, he is out. He will no longer run the company.
Michael Calore: He was actually fired from the company he co-founded.
Zoë Schiffer: Yes. That immediately sets off a chain reaction of events. His co-founder and company president Greg Brockman is stepping down in solidarity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Sam Altman will actually work at Microsoft and lead an advanced AI research team there. Then we see almost the entire OpenAI workforce sign a letter that says, “Wait, wait, wait. If Sam leaves, we leave too.”
[archival audio]: About 500 of these approximately 700 employees
[archival audio]: … is in danger of shutting down due to the abrupt resignation of popular OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Zoë Schiffer: Ultimately, there are tense back-and-forth negotiations between Sam Altman and the board of directors, and the board ultimately installs Mira Murati, the CTO, as interim CEO. Soon after, Sam is able to come to an agreement with the board and returns as CEO and the board immediately looks different, with Brett Taylor and Larry Summers joining, Adam D'Angelo staying and the rest of the board leaving.
