Did Microsoft-backed OpenAI Fire Sam Altman on ‘Google Meet’? Internet Can’t Stop Laughing – News18

The cyber waves are buzzing with revelation that sent shockwaves everywhere after OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT after they fired CEO Sam Altman and removed co-founder Greg Brockman from the board, all through a “quick” Google Meet call. Brockman, taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, expressed being “shocked and saddened” by the board’s actions, stating they were still trying to comprehend the situation. Amidst the unfolding drama, what caught everyone’s attention was the fact that OpenAI, a Microsoft-backed company, opted for its rival app ‘Google Meet’ instead of their own ‘Teams’ app for the crucial discussion.

In recounting the sequence of events, Brockman shared, “Last night, Sam got a text from Ilya asking to talk at noon Friday. Sam joined a Google Meet, and the whole board, except Greg, was there. Ilya told Sam he was being fired, and that the news was going out very soon.”

The OpenAI board, comprising Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo (Quora CEO), Tasha McCauley (technology entrepreneur), and Helen Toner (Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology), took the drastic step of dismissing Altman after a review revealed he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board. The company stated that the board no longer had confidence in Altman’s ability to lead OpenAI.

Despite the shockwaves caused by Altman’s removal, what became a subject of online amusement was the use of Google Meet by the Microsoft-backed company for such a significant meeting. Users jokingly commented on the irony, with one noting, “Microsoft partners that get things done, use Google Meet. No but this is pretty weird.”

“The most shocking about this is that they use Google Meet,” laughed another. “All-time advertisement for Google Meet,” exclaimed the third one.

In a detailed post on his micro-blogging site, Mr. Brockman outlined the sequence of events. “At 12:19pm, Greg (himself) got a text from Ilya asking for a quick call. At 12:23pm, Ilya sent a Google Meet link. Greg was told that he was being removed from the board (but was vital to the company and would retain his role) and that Sam had been fired. Around the same time, OpenAI published a blog post.”

“As far as we know, the management team was made aware of this shortly after, other than Mira (Murati) who found out the night prior,” Mr. Brockman said. He concluded that the “outpouring of support” has been really nice and that they will be fine.

It was due to these shocking events that even Brockman ‘quit’ the company, writing to the company, “We’ve been through tough & great times together, accomplishing so much despite all the reasons it should have been impossible. But based on today’s news, I quit.”