David A. FahrentholdCade Metz and Mike Isaac, How OpenAI Hopes to Sever Its Nonprofit Roots, NYTimes, 12.18.24.
The terms of its last financing round have OpenAI under the gun for spinning itself off as a for-profit corporation. In doing that, how much should it pay the remaining not-for-profit entity?
The negotiations are complicated by the involvement of outside investors, including Microsoft. Microsoft’s approval may be required to make the final change, one person said.
They are further complicated by the involvement of Mr. Altman. He holds a position on the board of the nonprofit and is chief executive of the for-profit company, putting him effectively on both sides of this negotiation. But he has not recused himself, one person said. [...]
If the nonprofit is removed from OpenAI’s chain of command, it could spin off into funding research on topics like ethics in artificial intelligence, one person said. But Mr. Altman and his colleagues have not yet assigned a dollar value to the nonprofit’s potential loss of control.
Other parties have an interest:
Kathy Jennings, Delaware’s attorney general, oversees OpenAI’s nonprofit because it is registered in her state. Ms. Jennings, a Democrat, told OpenAI in October that she wanted to review any potential changes, to be sure the nonprofit was not shortchanged.
Facebook’s parent company Meta — one of OpenAI’s main rivals in the A.I. race — has also asked California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, to block these changes. Mr. Bonta, a Democrat, has jurisdiction over charities operating in his state. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting charitable assets for their intended purpose,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement, though it did not address whether it is looking into OpenAI’s planned changes.
Trump card or not?
For now, the nonprofit also holds another key power: It can decide when OpenAI has reached “artificial general intelligence,” or A.G.I. That would mean OpenAI’s computers could perform most tasks that a human brain could.
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.
OpenAI must also satisfy another party: the public at large. In part because Mr. Altman has spent years publicly warning that A.I. could become dangerous, many individuals now share similar concerns. And many in the tech industry are publicly questioning whether OpenAI is prepared to guard against the risks its technologies will bring.
The concept of AGI is so fuzzy that such a declaration is mostly a matter of will and power. The logic will follow the party with the most power.
Sheesh! More at the link.
No comments:
Post a Comment