The company that created ChatGPT was thrown into turmoil Monday after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part on how to build artificial intelligence that’s smarter than humans.

The developments followed a weekend of drama that shocked the AI field and fueled speculation about the future of OpenAI, which named a new chief executive on Friday and then replaced her on Sunday. The newest CEO vowed to investigate the firing of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who’s been instrumental in OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research laboratory into a world-renowned commercial startup that inaugurated the era of generative artificial intelligence.

Microsoft, which has been a close partner of the company and invested billions of dollars in it, announced that Altman and OpenAI’s former president, Greg Brockman, would lead its new advanced AI research team. Brockman, also an OpenAI co-founder, quit in protest after Altman was fired.

Hundreds of OpenAI employees, including other top executives, threatened to join them at Microsoft in an open letter addressed to OpenAI’s four-member board that called for the board’s resignation and Altman’s return.

“If the architects and vision and brains behind these products have now left, the company will be a shell of what it once was,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute. “All of that brain trust going to Microsoft will then mean that these impressive tools will be coming out of Microsoft. It will be hard to see OpenAI continue to thrive as a company.”

File – Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI says it has pushed out Altman, its co-founder and CEO, and replaced him with an interim CEO. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Eric Risberg

FILE – Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks on Nov. 15, 2023, in San Francisco. Despite a rift between the key players behind ChatGPT and the company they helped build, both former Twitch leader Emmet Shear and Nadella said they are committed to a partnership. Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of ChatGPT maker OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world. It’s also left OpenAI’s new CEO to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing. The developments come Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, file)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Eric Risberg

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “extremely excited” to bring on the pair and looked “forward to getting to know” the new management team at OpenAI.

Altman later said on X that his top priority with Nadella is to ensure that OpenAI “continues to thrive” and that it is committed to “fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers.”

OpenAI said Friday that Altman was pushed out after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board of directors, which had lost confidence in his ability to lead the company.

In an X post Monday, OpenAI’s new interim chief executive, Emmett Shear, said he would hire an independent investigator to look into Altman’s ouster and write a report within 30 days.

“It’s clear that the process and communications around Sam’s removal” were handled “very badly,” wrote Shear, who co-founded Twitch, an Amazon-owned livestreaming service popular with video gamers.

He said he also plans in the next month to “reform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures.” After that, Shear said, he would “drive changes in the organization,” including “significant governance changes if necessary.”

Originally started as a nonprofit, and still governed as one, OpenAI’s stated mission is to safely build AI that is “generally smarter than humans.” Debates have swirled around that goal and whether it conflicts with the company’s increasing commercial success.

The reason behind the board’s removal of Altman was not a “specific disagreement on safety,” nor does the board oppose commercialization of AI models, Shear said.

OpenAI last week declined to answer questions about Altman’s alleged lack of candor. The company’s statement said his behavior was hindering the board’s ability to exercise its responsibilities.

A key driver of the shakeup, OpenAI’s co-founder, chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever, expressed regrets for his participation in the ouster.

“I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company,” he said Monday on X.

The open letter began circulating Monday. According to a copy obtained by The Associated Press, the number of signatures amounted to a majority of the company’s 770 employees. The AP was not able to independently confirm that all of the signatures were from OpenAI employees.

“Everyone at @OpenAI is united,” one of the signatories, research scientist Noam Brown, said on X. “This is not a civil war. Unless Sam and Greg are brought back, there will be no OpenAI left to govern.”

The letter alleged that after Altman’s firing, the company’s remaining executive team had recommended that the board resign and be replaced with a “qualified board” that could stabilize the company. But the board resisted and said allowing OpenAI to be destroyed would be consistent with its mission, according to the letter.

OpenAI has said since its 2015 founding that its goal is to advance AI in a way that benefits all humanity.

A company spokesperson confirmed that the board received the letter.

Microsoft declined to comment on the letter.

After Altman was pushed out, he stirred speculation about coming back into the fold in a series of tweets. He posted a selfie with an OpenAI guest pass Sunday, saying this is “first and last time i ever wear one of these.”

Hours earlier, he tweeted, “i love the openai team so much,” which drew heart replies from Brockman and Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer who was initially named as interim CEO.

It’s not clear what transpired between the announcement of Murati’s interim role Friday and Shear’s hiring, though she was among several employees Monday who tweeted, “OpenAI is nothing without its people.” Altman replied to many with heart emojis.

The board consists of Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology. None of them responded to calls or emails seeking comment. Because of its nonprofit structure, the board differs from most startup boards that are typically led by investors.

Altman helped catapult ChatGPT to global fame based on its ability to respond to questions and produce human-like passages of text in a seemingly natural way.

In the past year, he has become Silicon Valley’s most in-demand voice on the promise and potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

Earlier this year, he went on a world tour to meet with government officials, drawing big crowds at public events as he discussed the risks of AI and attempts to regulate the emerging technology.

But as money poured into OpenAI this year, helping to advance its development of more capable AI, it also brought more conflict around whether that fast pace of commercialization fit with the startup’s founding vision, said Kreps, the Cornell University professor. But rather than slow that pace, Altman’s ouster may simply shift it out of OpenAI.

Altman “really has a walk-on-water aura, and I think a lot of it is well deserved,” Kreps said. “He’s the one who has attracted the investment, and he’ll do that wherever it is.”

Microsoft’s shares rose 2% on Monday and hit an all-time high.

The AP and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.

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Associated Press writers Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Haleluya Hadero in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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A pup who was thrown from a truck during a high-speed chase in Los Angeles earlier this month could find a new home if the tiny dog’s owner can’t be traced or located.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) rescued the pup Friday, April 7, after the 8-week-old animal was thrown into a Michael Kors purse and thrown from a moving vehicle at around 12:12 p.m

The pup, who has golden fur, floppy ears and one brown-blue eye, was found unharmed, according to multiple LAPD statements.

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LAPD officials released the pup into the care of Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS), a municipal animal shelter system in the state of California, pending an investigation into its owner and abandonment.

The 8-week-old mixed breed puppy was thrown into a Michael Kors bag and dumped in the street.

A spokesman for LAAS told Fox News Digital that the pup is not yet available for adoption and the shelter will not share the animal’s gender, breed or name with the public.

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“We are unable to share any additional information about this puppy at this time. If and when he is available for adoption we will be able to provide more information,” LAAS wrote in an email.

The pup is currently being cared for by the Chesterfield Square Animal Services Center in South Los Angeles, according to LAAS.

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Within the LAAS, animals admitted for a “special circumstance” involving death, imprisonment, or hospitalization are held for a minimum of 30 days.

“This time may be extended depending on the circumstances,” the LAAS wrote to Fox News Digital.

Stray animals are typically held for four days before being put up for adoption, while lost pets with identification such as a microchip, tag or license are kept for at least 10 days, the LAAS said.

The story goes on

CALIFORNIA DOG NAMED PLATINUM, A SILVER CHIHUAHUA, HAS A DIFFICULT PATH, NEEDS A FOREVER HOME

Lost pets brought by the public will be microchipped and posted on the agency’s Lost Pets page on the LAAS website: laanimalservices.com/search/lost-pets.

“We would like to remind all pet owners to always attach their pet’s license tag to a collar on their pet,” LAAS wrote to Fox News Digital. “Additionally, an up-to-date microchip can make all the difference in reuniting your lost pet. We’ve had situations where a stolen pet is reunited with its owner years later because of its microchip.”

While the pup involved in the high-speed chase is not available for adoption, the LAPD and LAAS are encouraging the public to consider opening their homes to dogs at their local shelter.

At the time of publication, the LAAS website has 1,140 dogs available for adoption at six of their animal service centers.

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Search filters on the LAAS website show that 19 of these dogs are considered puppies and are less than four months old.

The six animal service centers are closed on Mondays and operate Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Animal shelters across the country offer puppies and adult dogs for adoption.

Appointments for adopting, fostering and dropping off pets are required on Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Sick or injured animals will be admitted without an appointment,” the LAAS wrote to Fox News Digital. “Appointments can be made online or by calling 1-888-452-7381.”

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