Firing Sam and then trying to bring him back is a hot mess.

Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed
Strange days indeed

– John Lennon

Sorry, me again. An hour after my last post, a credible rumor came out that OpenAI’s board is trying to hire Sam Altman back.

Firing Sam and then trying to bring him back is a hot mess.

Here’s why:

1. The board publicly expressed a lack of confidence in Sam’s veracity

2. Nonetheless shortly after the board replaced Sam with Mira Murati and they have reportedly promptly tried to get Sam back;

At least three things follow.

1. The board has proven itself fickle, regardless of outcome.

2. If Sam doesn’t come back, Mira may rightfully be perturbed, and if the rumor is correct they’ve now undermined her. Maybe she won’t even accept, or have bigger demands.

3. If Sam does come back, they have accomplished nothing (and probably lost Ilya and the $86B secondary sale) and returned to someone they don’t trust, and given him more power, which may inherently undermine safety.

From the outside, it’s extremely hard to see how all that adds up to a well-played , well-thought through hand.

Gary Marcus writes and thinks about artificial intelligence and natural stupidity. This story is starting to look like an unusual mix of the two.