OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit research institute, dedicated to realizing an "artificial general intelligence" that benefits all of humanity.
In a December 2015 blog post introducing the company, its founders, including current CEO Sam Altman and his now bitterly-departed rival Elon Musk, said that to accomplish its goal, it would have to be "unconstrained by a need to generate financial return."
"Since our research is free from financial obligations, we can better focus on a positive human impact," the company wrote.
But just shy of a decade later, the ChatGPT maker looks dramatically different. The company has ridden a tidal wave of AI hype, opening itself up to exactly the kind of financial incentives it once attempted to shield itself from.
As CNBC reports, OpenAI is deep into talks about a potential secondary stock sale that would value it at roughly half a trillion dollars, an over fivefold increase compared to just two years ago. Just last week, news emerged that the company secured a funding deal that already values it at a staggering $300 billion.
Altman has made dramatic changes to the company's structure, effectively erasing its nonprofit roots. In 2019, the company introduced a "capped-profit" subsidiary to attract funds. At the time, OpenAI still claimed its nonprofit parent would retain control, with excess investor funds flowing back into the nonprofit.
But then last year, the company moved to shake off its nonprofit roots even further, restructuring its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation, demonstrating that the draw of financial gain, particularly for its investors, was far too alluring.
"We remain focused on building AI that benefits everyone, and we’re working with our board to ensure that we’re best positioned to succeed in our mission," a spokesperson told Reuters at the time. "The non-profit is core to our mission and will continue to exist."
In a May blog post, OpenAI claimed that it would remain under the control of its original non-profit governing board as it restructured itself into a "Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)," a move that was intended to "consider the interests of both shareholders and the mission."
But actions speak far louder than words. Is OpenAI really after a benevolent superhuman AI that does good for everybody equally — or are we talking about a corrupted entity that puts profits over everything else?
... continue reading