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Comment by bansheeps | Hacker News Reader

Update: Looks like Barret Zoph, GPT-4's post training (co-)lead is also leaving: https://x.com/barret_zoph/status/1839095143397515452

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Whoa! This definitely looks much more troubling for the company now. Can't decide it is because AGI is coming very soon OR AGI is very far away

It's probably neither of those things. People can only be pissed off + burnt out for so long before they throw up their hands and walk out. Even if AGI is a random number of months away... or isn't.

If they had any equity they might've vested and decided there is more to life than working there. It's hard to be very motivated to work at high pace when you can retire any moment without losing your lifestyle.

I cannot actually believe that of anyone working at OpenAI, unless the company internal culture has gotten so unpleasant that people want to quit. Which is a very different kind of change, but I can't see them going from Bell Labs to IBM in less than ten years.

I'm guessing that most key players (Mira, Greg, Ilya, etc) negotiated deals last winter (if not before) that would ensure they kept their equity even if leaving, in return for letting Sam back in.

Probably with some form of NDA attached.

Looks like far away is more reasonable.

This is the money grab part of the show.

As LLM capabilities start to plateau, everyone with any sort of name recognition is scrambling to ride the hype to a big pay day before reality catches up with marketing.

Why would they leave if AGI was near?

Enjoy their life while they can?

To build their bunkers

To travel and spend time with their family and just not work a job knowing that their stake/share is likely worth millions and maybe one day billions.

Seems obvious to me that the quality of the models is not improving since GPT-4. The departures I’m guessing are a problem talent has with ‘founder mode’, Altman’s choice of fast pace, this absence of model improvement with these new releases, and the relative temptation of personal profit outside of OpenAI’s not-for-profit business model. People think they can do better in control themselves. I suspect they are all under siege with juicy offers of funding and opportunities. Whether or not they will do better is another story. My money is on Altman, I think he is right on the dumpster rocket idea, but it’s very difficult to see that when you’re a rocket scientist.

No it's more like, with the direction of company there are lots of unhappy people - but this gave them the right opportunity (and optics) to leave (now they don't need to justify leaving this corp to their friend)

These messages really sound like written under threat. They have a weird authoritarian regime quality . Maybe they just had ChatGpt write it though.

It's way simpler than that, people don't burn bridges unless it's for a good reason.

I do think that whoever Bob is, they probably really are a good manager. EDIT: I guess that's Bob McGrew, head of research, who is now also leaving.

And now Bob McGrew, Chief of Research

OpenAI is restructuring to be a for profit. Looks like that's coming with a bunch of turnover.

I'm not sure why the HN algorithm never let it hit the front page, but there's discussion here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41651548

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