Ex-OpenAI board member reveals reasons behind CEO Sam Altman's termination.

• In a podcast appearance, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner disclosed details about the events that led to CEO Sam Altman's dismissal in November.
• The board discovered that OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022 on Twitter without prior notice.
• The board fired Altman as CEO and named a new CEO less than a week later, but Toner's comments shed light on the reasons behind the decision.

This week, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, who played a role in ousting CEO Sam Altman in November, spoke publicly about the company's internal happenings leading up to Altman's dismissal.

One example she shared is that when OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, the board was not informed in advance and discovered it on Twitter. Additionally, Toner stated that Altman did not inform the board that he owned the OpenAI startup fund.

Less than a week after being fired, Altman was appointed CEO, and Toner's comments shed light on the reasoning behind the decision.

Toner stated on "The TED AI Show" podcast that the board is a nonprofit board established to prioritize the company's public good mission above profits, investor interests, and other considerations.

For years, Sam had made it challenging for the board to perform its duties by withholding information, misrepresenting events at the company, and sometimes outright lying to the board, as she stated.

Altman provided the board with inaccurate information about the small number of formal safety processes the company had in place on multiple occasions, as stated by Toner.

"Sam could always provide excuses that sounded harmless, but after years of this behavior, the four of us who fired him realized we couldn't trust what he was saying, which was a problem for a board that was supposed to provide independent oversight over the company and not just help the CEO raise more money."

In October, a month before the ousting, the board had discussions with two executives who disclosed uncomfortable experiences with Altman, including screenshots and documentation of problematic interactions and mistruths.

"The two of them abruptly began sharing with us their lack of trust in him, describing the toxic environment he was creating," Toner stated. "They employed the term 'psychological abuse,' asserting that they believed he was unsuitable to lead the company towards AGI and that they had no faith in his ability to change."

A type of artificial intelligence known as AGI surpasses human capabilities in multiple cognitive domains.

An OpenAI spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.

This month, OpenAI disbanded its team focused on AI risks, a year after the company announced the group. The news came days after both team leaders, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, announced their departures from the Microsoft-backed startup. Leike, who has since joined AI competitor Anthropic, wrote on Friday that OpenAI's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products."

Toner's comments and the high-profile departures follow last year's leadership crisis.

In November, OpenAI's board removed Altman from his position, stating that they had conducted a thorough review process and that Altman had not been truthful in his interactions with the board, which impeded their ability to fulfill their duties.

"OpenAI's leadership has lost the board's confidence," the statement read.

While Sutskever prioritized safeguarding humans from AI harm, others, including Altman, were more focused on advancing technology.

Altman's removal from OpenAI led to resignations and threats of resignations, including an open letter signed by almost all employees. There was also uproar from investors, including Microsoft. Within a week, Altman was reinstated and board members Toner and Tasha McCauley, who had voted to remove Altman, were removed. Sutskever stepped down from his board position but remained on staff until May 14. Adam D'Angelo, who had also voted to remove Altman, remains on the board.

In March, OpenAI announced its new board, which includes Altman, and the conclusion of an internal investigation by law firm WilmerHale into the events leading up to Altman's ouster.

OpenAI did not publish the WilmerHale investigation report but summarized its findings.

According to Bret Taylor, the board chair of OpenAI, the review found that there was a substantial breakdown of trust between the previous board and Sam and Greg, the president and co-founder of the company, respectively. Additionally, Taylor stated that the board acted in good faith and did not anticipate the instability that occurred afterward.