OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company known for its creation of ChatGPT, has announced the removal of its co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman. This decision came after a review found that Altman had been "not consistently candid in his communications" with the board of directors. The company stated that the board had lost confidence in Altman's ability to lead OpenAI effectively. Altman, who had catapulted ChatGPT to global fame, had become a sought-after voice in Silicon Valley regarding the potential dangers and promises of artificial intelligence. His sudden and mostly unexplained exit has left the industry uncertain about its future.

Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, will be taking over as the interim CEO, effective immediately, while the company searches for a permanent replacement. The announcement also revealed that Greg Brockman, another co-founder and top executive, would be stepping down from his role as the board's chairman but would remain at the company as its president.

However, Brockman took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his dissatisfaction with the situation. In a post, he stated, "based on today's news, I quit." He also elaborated on the events that transpired, mentioning that Altman was fired during a video meeting with the board members, excluding Brockman. Brockman expressed shock and sadness over the board's decision and revealed that he was informed of his removal from the board in a separate call.

OpenAI declined to provide details regarding Altman's lack of candor, stating that his behavior hindered the board's ability to fulfill its responsibilities. Altman himself posted on X, expressing his love for his time at OpenAI and his admiration for the talented people he worked with. He promised to provide more information about his future endeavors later on.

Altman had helped establish OpenAI as a nonprofit research laboratory in 2015. However, it was ChatGPT's rise to prominence that made him a face of generative AI. Altman traveled the world, discussing AI's potential and dangers with heads of state and adoring fans alike. Just a day before his removal, Altman participated in a CEO summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, where he highlighted AI's potential as "the greatest leap forward of any of the big technological revolutions we've had so far." He also acknowledged the need for safeguards against AI's existential threats.

The news of Altman's departure comes at a time when OpenAI faces an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The investigation aims to determine whether OpenAI violated consumer protection laws by scraping public data and spreading false information through its chatbot.

OpenAI's board comprises of its chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, and three non-employees: Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner from the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Microsoft, OpenAI's key business partner, has stated that the transition will not affect their relationship and that they remain committed to Mira and the OpenAI team.

Altman, despite not being trained as an AI engineer, has been regarded as a Silicon Valley prodigy since his early 20s. His appointment as the president of startup incubator YCombinator in 2014 was met with high praise from co-founder Paul Graham, who described him as "one of those rare people who manage to be both fearsomely effective and yet fundamentally benevolent."

Initially, OpenAI operated as a nonprofit with backing from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others. However, in 2018, it incorporated a for-profit business, Open AI LP, and transferred most of its staff there. This shift coincided with the release of OpenAI's first generation of the GPT language model. Musk stepped down from the board around the same time to avoid potential conflicts with Tesla's work on self-driving systems.

While OpenAI's board maintains a nonprofit governance structure, the startup it oversees has increasingly focused on capitalizing on its technology by tailoring its chatbot for business customers.