OpenAI’s Chief Scientist and co-founder, Ilya Sutskever, has announced his departure from the artificial intelligence company. In his resignation statement, he mentioned that he is embarking on a new project but did not provide further details on the reason for his departure. He expressed confidence in OpenAI’s future and emphasized the company’s commitment to building safe and beneficial AI.
This personnel change comes six months after Sutskever initiated a vote to remove OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, in what was dubbed a “coup.” Although he later expressed regret for the decision, the leadership shakeup highlights the ongoing turbulence within OpenAI since the November drama. Following the incident, nearly all the board members were replaced.
In an article on Medium, Sutskever described the trajectory of OpenAI’s development as remarkable and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work with everyone. Altman also took to social media to praise Sutskever as one of the greatest thinkers of our time and a guiding light in the field of artificial intelligence. He referred to Sutskever as a friend. OpenAI’s President, Greg Brockman, described Sutskever as an artist whose vision and passion are infectious.
Sutskever was one of the pioneering researchers who demonstrated the applicability of deep learning in solving pattern recognition problems. His contributions propelled the development of AI and led to his co-founding of OpenAI. His presence also helped attract numerous talented researchers to the company. At OpenAI, his focus was primarily on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) with human-level thinking capabilities and ensuring that AGI aligns with human values.
Last Thanksgiving, Sutskever expressed discontent with Altman’s eagerness to launch AI products without prioritizing safety. The former board suddenly dismissed Altman without notifying most OpenAI employees, citing lack of transparency in his communication with the board. This decision angered Microsoft and other OpenAI investors, prompting most OpenAI employees, including Sutskever, to demand Altman’s swift reinstatement or threaten resignation. Eventually, Altman was successfully reinstated, leading to the resignation of most of the former board members.
Jakub Pachocki, the research director at OpenAI, will succeed Sutskever after his departure. In fact, Sutskever has not returned to his position since the events of November, and Pachocki has informally managed the research department. Pachocki joined OpenAI in 2017 as the research director of the OpenAI Dota team, leading the team to develop an AI system that can defeat human players in the game Dota 2. He later became the head of the reasoning and deep learning science organization and was subsequently promoted to research director.
At the same time as Sutskever’s departure, Jan Leike, who co-led the Super Alignment team with him, also announced his departure from the company. It is unclear whether Pachocki will also take over the Super Alignment team. The team’s primary mission is to ensure that AI remains within bounds and has the correct values, preventing a future where humans face a “misaligned AI.”
[Image: OpenAI Logo]
Sources:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TechCrunch