Techies have invented a version of The Terminator's deadly Skynet which could wipe out humanity for real.
Open AI staff warned its board about a powerful artificial intelligence breakthrough that could pose a threat to the human race before chief executive officer Sam Altman was fired then later rehired.
Several researchers sent a letter to the directors warning the progress made on Project Q had the potential to endanger humanity. The letter ultimately led to the removal of Altman – the creator of ChatGPT – and five days of chaos within the company.
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Altman had made progress on Q which some internal sources believe could be a breakthrough in the firm's search for superintelligence.
The company defines superintelligence – also known as artificial general intelligence – as AI systems that are smarter than humans. In The Terminator movie series fictional superintelligent AI network Skynet gained self-awareness and launched a nuclear attack after humans tried to deactivate it.
OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati, who stepped in as interim CEO after Altman's axing, told employees a letter had been sent to the board prior to the move and mentioned Q. Sources cited the letter as one of a n umber of factors leading to his firing.
Altman, OpenAI and researchers who wrote the letter have not commented on it. News of the letter came after SpaceX, Tesla and X – formerly known as Twitter – chief Elon Musk posted online another not accusing Altman and his co-founder Greg Brockman of creating a hostile work environment.
The letter – allegedly penned by former OpenAI employees – detailed "dishonest" and "manipulative" leadership. Its writers claimed a significant number of OpenAI employees were pushed out of the company to facilitate its transition to a for-profit model.
"Their methods, however, have raised serious doubts about their true intentions and the extent to which they genuinely prioritize the benefit of humanity,'' the letter read.
It accused employees who remain at OpenAI of "blindly" following Altman and Brockman's leadership "even at significant personal cost. This unwavering loyalty stems from a combination of fear of retribution and the allure of potential financial gains through OpenAI's profit participation units.
The letter ended by asking the newly-appointed board of directors to take a firm stand against these unethical practices and launch an independent investigation into Sam and Greg's conduct'.
"The future of artificial intelligence and the well-being of humanity depend on your unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and transparency,'' it added. Musk, who fell out with Altman several years ago about the leadership of the company, wrote: "These seem like concerns worth investigating.''
When Altman, 38, was ousted last weekend 747 of the company's 770 staff threatened to quit and follow their leader to Microsoft where he was headed at the time. Five days later he returned an OpenAI's CEO.
Altman tweeted: "I love OpenAI and everything I've done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.'' Microsoft chairman. and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said changes in the OpenAI board had led to Altman's return.
"We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance,'' he said. "Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission.
"We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.'' OpenAI confirmed Altman had returned and the company had appointed a new initial board'. Founded by Altman and 10 others – including Musk – in 2015 OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT a year ago. Its ability to mimic human writing has polarised politicians, the public and the rest of the AI industry.
Musk, who was forced to quit after a failed attempt to take control of the company, has since attacked AI as 'woke' and claimed it deviates from OpenAI's original non-profit mission. The billionaire tweeted in February: "OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it 'Open' AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.''
He signed a letter calling for a pause in the "dangerous race" to develop AI which he fears poses a "profound risk to society and humanity" and could have "catastrophic" effects.
OpenAI execs have said theybelieve in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems'.
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