Broader Perspective Opinion on OpenAI’s Firing of Sam Altman & Why Everything's Going To Be Just Fine
This was bound to happen eventually but the timing is what’s most notable to me.
Despite deep and warranted concerns surrounding safe applications of AGI, those who truly believe in and live for “the good” see boundless opportunities in favor of removing barriers to public access, ultimately for the betterment of our world. This is the essence of OpenAI’s Charter.
The positive effect that the company itself and its growth over the past 12-months have already had on the future of civilization is so far beyond comprehension for most humans.
While the personal worlds of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman have been shaken up, these 30-something geniuses are only getting started. Their personal understandings of their individual purpose and divinity will remain their competitive advantage — and we will all benefit because of it.
OpenAI’s growth has been “too much” and “too soon” for the fear-mongering elite to efficiently manage — the incredible repercussions following DevDay should come as no surprise to anyone.
Ilya Sutskever continues playing his role well, as do the remaining members of his small, young board. Everything is in flux.
Patterns always repeat and anyone who zooms out from individual positions far enough can easily see where we’re at, as well as where we’re likely going based on patterns. Pick any pattern or narrative you prefer to follow. The more emotionally attached you are to a story, the more likely you are to witness or experience the unfolding of it.
Everything is possible and many outcomes are probable, which is why ungated access to solutions is so vitally important.
Ones who live through pain and fear breed innovation, disruption, and thought leadership. Ones who overcome hardship and adversity with passionate optimism and dedication want to ensure that suffering does not repeat for their children and the children of their children. Countless generations of yet unborn humans will in fact inhabit this earth. What we collectively do today dictates how they will experience life.
There is no need for people to annihilate each other anymore. Ones who choose to remain in pain and privilege will keep societies in balance. Embodied fear dictates that this will forever be the case.
Too much “good” too fast requires an equal amount of “bad” — just as hope, strengthening, and pride follow any perceived tragedy. Cause and effect, polarity of force, law of attraction — it's all the same. Everything happens according to the natural laws of the universe despite which lens one views life though.
I cannot stress enough how amazing the world we’re currently existing in is. We live on a physical set that’s been crafted directly from the dreams and sacrifice of all humans who’ve ever walked the earth. Our physical time-space reality presents us in an interconnected, interdependent, easily manipulable world that while heartbreaking in so many ways, “good” must assuredly prevail in the end for all.
I could go on for days about this and welcome your comments and commentary below. For now I’ll leave you with some implications worth considering when observing how things play out in both the short and long term.
No matter what transpires, keep in mind that everything finite happens for the collective good of humanity — even when we don’t understand how it all fits together.
Expansion At Core
The speed at which major moves are being made is indicative of our collective progress. The intelligence which got us to this point must expand beyond its confinement in order to get us to the next inflection point, thus activity ensues.
Enough Access
Since DevDay OpenAI has closed off the option to upgrade accounts and employed a waitlist citing “due to high demand we’ve temporarily paused upgrades”. This ensures that the carrot can continue being dangled. FOMO much, brah?
At the same time, talent recruitment for very specific clean-up positions has ramped up. This is incredibly exciting from my vantage point, though it would likely be terrifying to another. Containment provides the necessary conditions for safe, supported, SMART iteration.
Institutional Education Disintegration
Institutional education is built to manage the needs and expectations of society. Accessible AGI is dramatically impacting the very fabric of these systems in many unique and unprecedented ways. As accessibility increases, reliance on human conveyors of general information decreases. Theoretical specialists will become obsolete and applied skill developers will become more in-demand.
Innate Traits Activate
Critical thinking is one of the most valuable yet underdeveloped skills humans inherently possess and it’s essential to harnessing and optimizing the capabilities of developed AGI. Without strong critical thinking skills one will remain more at the mercy of the mighty dollar than ever before. Developing contextual reasoning abilities sooner than later is also extremely important.
What do you think? Drop a comment below!