A few days ago, the nonprofit tech watchdog organization Midas Project and Tech Oversight Project co-publishing a document called The OpenAI Files.reveals in detail what OpenAI CEO Sam Altman A series of controversial acts of alleged deception, manipulation, and transfer of benefits since founding the company.
The documents show that Altman had fictionalized himself as the chairman of Y Combinator (YC) and made public announcements and acted as such in SEC filings for a long period of time without any board approval.It has also been revealed that he has an indirect stake in OpenAI through Sequoia Capital and YC Fund, among others, despite previously insisting in congressional testimony that he has no financial interest.
The document also notes that Altman has invested in more than 80 companies, many of which do business with OpenAI, including Reddit and Rain AI. Altman himself has benefited from the company-to-company collaboration.
Altman was also exposed for quietly modifying OpenAI's 'profit capping' structure - originally designed to limit returns, it can now grow by 20% per year, and will be completely liberalized over the next few decades to create unlimited room for investors to earn, a change that was never publicly disclosed.
The file also states thatAltman has been repeatedly reported by his subordinates as 'lying and disorganized'.Back at Loopt, the first company he founded, employees twice asked the board to remove him, and in OpenAI, former CTO Mira Murati has said she would be extremely upset if the future of AGI was run by Altman.
In addition, at the governance level, OpenAI's Board of Directors no longer exists. According to research, the nonprofit part of OpenAI has been marginalized - the nonprofit's board of directors no longer has the power to enable OpenAI to carry out its original mission. OpenAI's original mission was "to ensure generalized artificial intelligence for the benefit of all people".
While OpenAI still claims to maintain a non-profit focus, documents show that it has long since evolved internally into a company focused on maximizing profits. After the reorganization, Altman may receive a stake equivalent to 7% of the company's market capitalization, valued at up to $20 billion.