OpenAI board found out about ChatGPT through Twitter, claims ex-board member. Watch

OpenAI’s board was not informed of the launch of ChatGPT by CEO Sam Altman, and instead learned about its existence when they saw it on Twitter, claims former board member Helen Toner. The Australian researcher cited this as one of several instances where Altman lied to the board.

Toner has provided the first detailed account of Altman’s dramatic firing and rehiring from OpenAI last November. In an interview on "The Ted AI Show" podcast that aired Tuesday, the former OpenAI board member said that Altman consistently “misrepresented things that were happening at the company,” withheld information and sometimes lied outright to the board.

Altman was fired by the company’s board on November 17, 2023 after the organisation claimed that it “lost confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI”. He returned four days later.

In her interview, Toner shed some light on the events that led to his firing and return as CEO of OpenAI. She painted a picture of a manipulative executive who fostered a "toxic atmosphere".
“To give a sense of the sort of thing I’m talking about, when ChatGPT came out November 2022, the board was not informed in advance. We learned about ChatGPT on Twitter,” she revealed. “Sam didn’t inform the board that he owned the OpenAI Startup Fund even though he constantly was claiming to be an independent board member with no financial interest in the company,” said Toner.

She also claimed that Altman, on “multiple occasions,” gave inaccurate information about formal safety processes. Because of this, it was basically impossible for the board to know how the safety processes were working or what changes needed to be made.