We now know more about Sam Altman’s actions, which were so serious that they led to his termination from OpenAI

Following Sam Altman’s dismissal from OpenAI on November 17, numerous members of the tech community and workers of the firm compared the decision to a coup.

The story that emerged in the immediate wake of Altman’s termination was that the majority of OpenAI staff thought well of him and that his abrupt termination was unexpected, representing an unpredictable decision by a board that put ideology ahead of shareholder requests and employee preferences.

However, over the last few weeks, more information has come to light, providing further context for the board’s decision to terminate Altman, which was eventually overturned through a convoluted process.

These fresh findings imply that Altman is a seasoned corporate con artist who used people and perceptions within OpenAI to uphold his own reputation, and that his strategies caused a great deal of resentment among a number of individuals within the company.

Toner v. Altman

The only rationale provided by OpenAI’s board when it initially declared Altman’s termination on November 17 was that he had not been “consistently candid in his communications with the board.”

However, recent information indicates that the board might have been alluding to incidents in which Altman used his influence to undermine other board members, particularly those who disapproved of his aggressive strategy for implementing artificial intelligence. There has been conflict at OpenAI since the beginning on how cautiously it should move forward considering the possible threat the technology poses to humankind.

For example, Altman’s relationship with board member Helen Toner was not always harmonious.

Toner, a researcher at a Georgetown University-based think tank, released a study in October that was critical of ChatGPT’s “frantic corner-cutting” release as well as support for OpenAI’s competitor Anthropic’s decision to postpone the release of their chatbot, Claude.

The Federal Trade Commission was already looking into OpenAI when Altman approached Toner regarding the paper and suggested it “may cause problems” with them, according to The New York Times.

According to the Times, Altman wrote OpenAI’s management directly, reprimanding Toner, although Toner had offered to write an apology to the company’s board. The Times cited him in an email, saying, “I didn’t feel we’re on the same page on the damage of all this.”

It’s possible that Altman caused friction between Toner and Tasha McCauley, another board member, as a result of their argument.

According to persons with knowledge of the discussions with the Times, Altman called other members of the OpenAI board and informed them that McCauley, a software entrepreneur and scientist at the RAND Corporation, wanted Toner removed off the board. Later, the Times added that McCauley said this was “absolutely false” in response to questions from board members regarding the incident.

Sutskever v. Altman

Ilya Sutskever, the principal scientist at OpenAI and a former board member, and Altman did not get along well either. Their disagreements were fundamentally ideological.

According to people familiar with the matter, Sutskever was viewed by OpenAI as an AI “visionary” with an academic approach that might not have clicked with an engineer like Altman. Business Insider was previously informed of this. He desired to adopt a more cautious stance because he believed Altman was pressuring OpenAI to advance technology too quickly.

According to those who previously spoke with BI, Sutskever had become weary of being “pushed out of decisions” over ChatGPT-5 and ambitions to grow the business and product.

According to the Times, tensions reached a breaking point in October when Altman gave a researcher a position equal to Sutskever. According to the Times, Sutskever expressed his displeasure to other board members by threatening to resign, which they interpreted as a request to pick between Sutskever and Altman. Sutskever perceived this as a slight to his own position inside the company.

Altman against all others

At the time, some of the six board members thought Altman was a little too cunning and dishonest. According to the New Yorker, Altman’s tech-executive style of “move fast and break things” didn’t always sit well with the group because several of them had backgrounds in academics or nonprofits.

An individual with knowledge of the board’s talks told the New Yorker, “They felt Sam had lied.” They were so afraid of Altman’s strategies that they wanted to make sure his removal would come as a shock when they started discussing it, according to The New Yorker. According to someone familiar with their conversations, “it was evident that, as soon as Sam found out, he’d do anything he could to undermine the board” to the source.

Two evenings after Altman’s dismissal, Sutskever met with OpenAI employees and reported that one of the board’s justifications for Altman’s removal was that Altman had expressed divergent views about a board member to two other board members, as previously reported by Business Insider with knowledge of the meeting. Sutskever also stated that Altman was alleged to have delivered the identical project to two distinct individuals within the company.

Even Altman has acknowledged that, before his dismissal, he had difficulties with the board. A little less than two weeks after his removal, he wrote on X, “It is clear that there were real misunderstandings between me and members of the board.”

Although Altman hasn’t publicly responded to the claims that he was challenging to work with, he acknowledged last week in an interview with Trevor Noah that the board needed to include more representatives who are concerned about AI safety. “I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to do everything correctly. And it’s obvious that we were mistaken earlier,” he said to Noah.

The fact that Altman’s dismissal was so quick indicated that the corporation as a whole supported him. Executives at OpenAI began posting heart emoticons on social media in response, and employees threatened to resign in a letter of support if he wasn’t given his job back. However, not all employees at the company agreed with Altman.

According to the Washington Post, a few senior OpenAI executives complained about Altman to the board in the fall. According to the Post, some of them, especially those who oversee sizable teams, expressed concerns that Altman might sabotage OpenAI’s workflow and incite conflict among staff members.

After receiving unfavorable input from an employee, Altman grew aggressive, according to the employee who informed the board, prompting the board to evaluate Altman’s conduct as CEO. After that, sources told the Post, Altman proceeded to disparage a member of that team.

It appears that Altman’s swift reinstatement as CEO indicates that the company’s influential sponsors, including Microsoft, were unimpressed with the charges. Sutskever has also acknowledged his regret for what he did. Nevertheless, rumors persist that Altman has received the message that a makeover of his image is necessary.