“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions,” OpenAI co-founder and ChatGPT-4 creator Ilya Sutskever says

In a post on the social platform X, ChatGPT-4 creator and OpenAI board member Ilya Sutskever has publicly expressed regret for his role in the decision that resulted in the dismissal of the company’s co-founder and former CEO, Sam Altman.

“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company,” Sutskever shared on X.

I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.

— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023

It all started on Friday when Altman was unceremoniously fired by OpenAI’s board without any prior notice, not even to Microsoft, which had invested a substantial $13 billion in the creator of ChatGPT. Brockman resigned in protest, causing significant upheaval at the influential tech company.

In response to Altman’s dismissal, the tech community rallied behind him and Brockman, criticizing the board’s decision, with some comparing it to the controversial firing of Steve Jobs by Apple in 1985.

Top investors in OpenAI, including Microsoft, were unhappy with the situation and attempted to persuade Altman and Brockman to return over the weekend. However, those efforts were unsuccessful. To fill the gap left by Altman, OpenAI brought in Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, as an interim replacement.

The exact reasons for Altman’s removal remain unclear, with the board citing a “breakdown in communications” rather than any misconduct. However, reports suggest a disagreement over Altman’s ambitious plans for rapid growth. Some board members, concerned about the potential risks of AI, preferred a more cautious approach, contrasting with Altman’s push to commercialize the powerful ChatGPT chatbot quickly.

Ilya Sutskever is a Russian-born computer scientist and a co-founder of OpenAI. Renowned for his role as the creator of ChatGPT-4, Sutskever currently serves as both a board member and the Chief Scientist at OpenAI. His significant contributions to the realm of deep learning have marked his influence in the field.