How OpenAI Hopes to Sever Its Nonprofit Roots
How OpenAI Hopes to Sever Its Nonprofit Roots
As the maker of ChatGPT battles Google and Meta for A.I. supremacy, it’s also fighting to end control by a nonprofit board.
Archived version, for posterity.
Take note Bluesky fans: Your "benevolent" controlling nonprofit can quickly become a for-profit if enough cash is thrown at the governing board...
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Reaching A.G.I. could also reshape OpenAI’s business. When that declaration is made, Microsoft loses its rights to use OpenAI’s technology, according to the investment contract it signed with OpenAI. If OpenAI severs its ties to Microsoft, it could consider partnerships with other tech giants.
Already, OpenAI’s for-profit company has used this potential declaration as leverage against Microsoft — warning that if Microsoft will not agree to better terms, the nonprofit might issue this declaration and void their entire agreement, according to a person familiar with the company’s negotiations.
That's pretty messed up. So whenever OpenAI says they've achieved AGI it's just a gonna be a lie.
I'm actually surprised AGI isn't better defined in the contract, or that there isn't a burden of proof so that they can't lie, but that was definitely on purpose. I really can't imagine them severing that tie though; OpenAI simply isn't financially stable enough, especially in the long term, and I'm sure they know it too.
I'm actually surprised AGI isn't better defined in the contract
There'll be a significant lawsuit if OpenAI tries such a declaration without MS on board with it.
But i'm not sure how much OpenAI is even investing toward AGI. LLM is their bread and butter and I don't know many experts that think LLM is the path to AGI.
The fact that OpenAI have waived the threat of using the clause implies to me that they've defined it relatively loosely... or just that they're really stupid, which may also be possible.
I did a little bit of looking and couldn't find a figure on how much OpenAI spends on AGI compared to GenAI research, but in looking, I found this interesting:
https://openai.com/index/scale-the-benefits-of-ai/
Which begins with the following:
We are making progress on our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity, and learning...
Which seems like a shady placement of two unrelated things next to one another. Makes me wonder if texts like this have the goal of selling GenAI as AGI one day.