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☆ A former OpenAI board member says Sam Altman's firing wasn't 'motivated by a desire to slow down OpenAI's work'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner has announced her resignation. Toner said that the board wasn't trying to slow down OpenAI's work by firing CEO Sam Altman. AdvertisementFormer OpenAI board member Helen Toner says the board wasn't trying to stifle the company's progress by removing CEO Sam Altman. Though there has been speculation, we were not motivated by a desire to slow down OpenAI’s work. AdvertisementAside from bringing back Altman, OpenAI welcomed a new initial board comprising Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.

Persons: Helen Toner, Toner, Sam Altman, Altman, —, wasn't, OpenAI, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, Taylor, Tasha McCauley, Ilya Sutskever . Organizations: Service, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Microsoft, Business Insider Locations: OpenAI's

Jack Guez | Afp | Getty ImagesAfter a weekend of crisis and tumult, Sam Altman has returned as the CEO of OpenAI. Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBret Taylor, board chair Bret Taylor is currently a board member at the e-commerce platform Shopify . It isn't clear if Taylor's involvement with his own AI startup will cease with his appointment to lead OpenAI's board. OpenAI's board fired Altman Friday after determining he was "not consistently candid in his communications," but its members never elaborated further. Jack Guez | AFP | Getty ImagesIlya Sutskever Ilya Sutskever co-founded OpenAI and serves as its chief scientist.

Persons: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Jack Guez, Altman, There's, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Here's, Bret Taylor, Nathan Laine, He's, Elon, Taylor, Salesforce, Larry Summers, David A, CNBC Larry Summers Larry Summers, Clinton, Summers, Jack Dorsey, Adam D'Angelo Adam D'Angelo, D'Angelo, Helen Toner, CSET, Vox, Jerod Harris, Helen Toner Helen Toner, Toner, Tasha McCauley, Carlton Laguna Nigel, Tasha McCauley Tasha McCauley, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, McCauley, Ilya Sutskever Ilya Sutskever, Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Brockman's, Sven Hoppe Organizations: Tel Aviv University, Afp, Getty, Microsoft, CNBC, Sequoia, Tiger Global, Salesforce, Viva Technology Conference, Bloomberg, Google, Economic, Grogan, Harvard University, Obama, Economic Council, Twitter, Meta, Facebook, The Ritz, Carlton, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Philanthropy, Business Development, Ritz, Rand Corporation, GeoSim Systems, AFP, University of Toronto, Stanford, Technical University of Munich Locations: Tel Aviv, Paris, Davos, Switzerland, Washington, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point , California, Russian Israeli, Canadian

☆ Fear that AI could one day destroy humanity may have led to Sam Altman's (potentially brief) ouster from OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fears over the speed of AI development at OpenAI may have sowed discord within its top ranks. Some OpenAI board members may have disagreed with Altman's approach to AI innovation. OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever has long called for caution due to concerns AI could harm humanity. AdvertisementSam Altman's possibly brief dismissal from OpenAI has exposed a schism between the company's top leaders over how to curb the existential threat posed by AI. OpenAI's board has not offered any more details on what led them to fire Altman beyond noting that they had "lost confidence" in him and that he was not "consistently candid" in communications.

Persons: Ilya Sutskever, —, Sam Altman's, OpenAI, Altman, Mayoshi, Sutskever, — Helen Toner, who's, Tasha McCauley —, Dario Amodei, that's, Elon Musk, Tesla Organizations: Service, The New York Times, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Wired Locations: OpenAI

Flags of China and U.S. are displayed on a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips, in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. Reuters reported in June that the very AI chips barred by prior regulations could be purchased from vendors in China's Shenzhen. AI capabilities, aided by supercomputing and advanced chips, improve the speed and accuracy of military decision-making, planning and logistics, according to the regulations released Tuesday. LICENSING EXPANDEDThe new measures also expand licensing requirements for exports of advanced chips to more than 40 additional countries that present risks of diversion to China and are subject to U.S. arms embargoes. "We don’t think incremental semiconductor equipment restrictions are likely to have significant long term effects" on equipment suppliers, Wolfe Research said in a client note.

Persons: Florence Lo, Biden, Moore, Gina Raimondo, Biren, ASML, Lam, Raimondo, Jake Sullivan, Janet Yellen, Alexandra Alper, Karen Freifeld, Stephen Nellis, David Shepardson, Max A, Chris Sanders, Jamie Freed, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Nvidia, Beijing, Commerce, Reuters, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Xilinx, Intel, supercomputing, HIT, AMD, U.S, Lam, Applied Materials, Wolfe Research, Semiconductor Industry Association, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Iran, Russia, Beijing, China's Shenzhen, Georgetown, CHINA, Macau, Netherlands

China's Ministry of Commerce has previously accused the U.S. of abusing export controls and called for it to "stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies." Washington has been working to close other loopholes that allow the AI chips into China. In August, it told Nvidia and AMD to restrict shipments of the AI chips beyond China to other regions, including some countries in the Middle East. Sources said the new rules on AI chips expected this month will likely apply those same restrictions more broadly to all companies in the market. But sources say the Biden administration is grappling with that issue as well.

Persons: Florence Lo, Biden, Greg Allen, Hanna Dohmen, George, CSET, Timothy Fist, Alexandra Alper, Karen Freifeld, Chris Sanders, Anna Driver Organizations: REUTERS, United, Reuters, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Commerce Department, Embassy, China's Ministry of Commerce, U.S, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, International Affairs, George Washington University’s School of International Affairs, Nvidia, Xilinx, Intel, AMD, Amazon Web Services, Washington, New, New American Security, Thomson Locations: United States, Beijing, China, U.S, Shenzhen . Washington, Singapore, Washington, Georgetown, Microsemi . Washington, New American

☆ Amid US-China rivalry, a landmark science deal faces new scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Extending the Science and Technology Agreement between the U.S. and China would only further jeopardize our research and intellectual property," said Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of a congressional select committee on China. "The administration must let this outdated agreement expire." "It is hoped that the U.S. side will expedite the internal review before the expiration of the agreement," he said. Given the state of U.S.-China ties, trying to renegotiate could derail the agreement, they said. Proponents of renewing the deal argue that without it, the U.S. would lose valuable insight into China's technical advances.

Persons: Florence Lo, Antony Blinken, Mike Gallagher, Liu Pengyu, Joe Biden, Kurt Campbell, Denis Simon, Anna Puglisi, Michael Martina, Don Durfee, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, ., China Science, Technology, Science, U.S, State Department, National Security Council, Hudson Institute, University of North, Chapel Hill, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, United States, Beijing, Washington, Pacific, University of North Carolina, East Asia

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