The Latest Scariness with AI - A Doozy

The Background

Long long ago (back in December 2022), ChatGPT by OpenAI was released.

And then towards the end of 2023, the main ChatGPT creator, Sam Altman, was let go by the company which resulted in quite the panic - one never wants to hear that one's cherished inventor, so to say, was gently airdropped to the curbside.

To wit:

"... Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT. He also co-founded Y Combinator, a renowned startup accelerator responsible for companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe.

Altman is a prominent figure in the tech world, recognized for his intelligence and vision. He is dedicated to using AI to address global challenges like climate change and disease and emphasizes responsible and ethical AI development. Under his guidance, OpenAI has pioneered advanced AI solutions, with ChatGPT being a notable example. Altman aims to make such technologies universally accessible and leverage AI for global betterment...."

Who Invented ChatGPT has all of that info.

A week later, Sam returned and promptly got rid of the board.

And yesterday, one of the board members finally spoke out about the whole rigamarole like so:

"...When ChatGPT came out [in] November 2022, the board was not informed in advance about that. We learned about GPT on Twitter," Toner alleged. "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. On multiple occasions he gave us inaccurate information about the small number of formal safety processes that the company did have in place, meaning that it was basically impossible for the board to know how well those safety processes were working or what might need to change...."

https://mashable.com/article/open-ai-board-why-fired-sam-altman-helen-toner-podcast explains more about said rigamarole, and the podcast where this was discussed can be found at https://open.spotify.com/episode/4r127XapFv7JZr0OPzRDaI

But.... more drama then exploded. Sam responded:

"....there was a provision about potential equity cancellation in our previous exit docs; although we never clawed anything back, it should never have been something we had in any documents or communication. this is on me and one of the few times i've been genuinely embarrassed running openai; i did not know this was happening and i should have...." over at https://x.com/sama/status/1791936857594581428

Except then Vox released he probably lied by:

"...On Friday, Vox reported that employees at tech giant OpenAI who wanted to leave the company were confronted with expansive and highly restrictive exit documents. If they refused to sign in relatively short order, they were reportedly threatened with the loss of their vested equity in the company â€” a severe provision that's fairly uncommon in Silicon Valley. The policy had the effect of forcing ex-employees to choose between giving up what could be millions of dollars they had already earned or agreeing not to criticize the company, with no end date...." over at https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/351132/openai-vested-equity-nda-sam-altman-documents-employees

But then! OpenAI has just set up a new safety board to ensure AI is being developed with safety in mind. Except the new board consists of CEO Sam Altman, company chair Bret Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, and Nicole Seligman.

Notice how the main salesman (Sam) is ALSO on the new Safety Board?

So why is this of importance?

So glad you asked!

Why This Is Important

Have you heard what Google is dealing with these days?

In 7 words:

"Google Search Is Now a Giant Hallucination"

ie: "...Google tested out AI overviews for months before releasing them nationwide last week, but clearly, that wasnâ€™t enough time. The AI is hallucinating answers to several user queries, creating a less-than-trustworthy experience across Googleâ€™s flagship product. In the last week, Gizmodo received AI overviews from Google that reference glue-topped pizza and suggest Barack Obama was Muslim.

The hallucinations are concerning, but not entirely surprising. Like weâ€™ve seen before with AI chatbots, this technology seems to confuse satire with journalism â€“ several of the incorrect AI overviews we found seem to reference The Onion. The problem is that this AI offers an authoritative answer to millions of people who turn to Google Search daily to just look something up. Now, at least some of these people will be presented with hallucinated answers...." over at https://gizmodo.com/google-search-ai-overview-giant-hallucination-1851499031

Note those last 2 lines?

"The problem is that this AI offers an authoritative answer to millions of people who turn to Google Search daily to just look something up. Now, at least some of these people will be presented with hallucinated answers."

ie, your typical grandma who researches "how do I make a killer spahgetti" might get a recipe for actual un-aliving.

Now, Google and OpenAI are dealing with 2 different AIs, true.

But remember - those who control how the data is shared are those who can control *society*. Think about it -

Google is the most popular Search Engine out there. ChatGPT is the best-known ChatBot.

Google's AI in search suggests adding glue to keep cheese on pizza (check out https://x.com/petergyang/status/1793480607198323196 to see).

OpenAi's CEO (and basically main salesman) is ALSO now in the group dedicated to decide how safe their AI is.

So remember again:

Those who control how the data is shared are those who can control *society*.

'tis a scary thing these days indeed.

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