The timing of the executive departures is extremely suspicious. There's clearly a major shift happening here in Altman's favor, and even if he's not getting equity now it seems inevitable at this point.
As others have noted, the wording here is also highly suspect: "no current plans" for a "giant equity stake" gives him at least two different paths to claim he never lied about the situation if and when he gets equity.
I’m reading the sequel to Robert Grave’s classic, I, Claudius. In it, Cæsar Claudius describes the Imperial Senate’s process of proactive prostration.
The Emperor never requests favours. Instead, ambitious Senators must guess his desires and offer them to him, at which point a song and dance is done about his refusing and the Senate insisting and him, reluctantly, accepting the honor.
So did emperors in other countries. They didn’t want to be the new emperors after a successful usurpation. Instead, their followers needed to plead or even force them to accept the throne
> didn’t want to be the new emperors after a successful usurpation. Instead, their followers needed to plead or even force them to accept the throne
Believable in revolution—for every George Washington and Sulla we have dozens of Pinochets and Putins. After that, however, it’s a stupid lie. The emperor wants things and wants it to look like he was forced to accept it. This is the signature of despots, not even monarchs.
When you're saying the investors are demanding it, the board is saying they've discussed it but don't have specific numbers, saying there are no "current plans" is pretty weak tea as a denial. Okay, there's no plan today but you're... actively working on one?
I was a bit distracted and read this as Sam Bankman-Fried, the realized it was Sam Altman, then realised there wasn't much light between the two names imho.
Yeah, but he’s good at it, though. That’s the amazing thing. It’s really obvious to everyone what he’s doing, and yet he still manages to pull it off, repeatedly.
Paul Graham said: “Sam is extremely good at becoming powerful.”
Altman is a predator; people respect their power even if they fear their motives. The investor class love guys like him, because he doesn’t let ethics get in the way of seeking power. Same reason they loved Zuckerberg.
Indeed, I heard there are plans for a giant equity stake to be awarded to a company called Notsam Naltman, LLC, which would leave nothing left to give to Sam Altman.
> investors have raised concerns about Altman not having equity in the high-valued artificial intelligence company that he co-founded
I think here lies the interesting point. I’m not gonna try to mindread Sam and guess at what his true intentions are, but the investors’ intentions are clear: align Sam’s incentives with profit. I wish him the best of luck in navigating this.
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As others have noted, the wording here is also highly suspect: "no current plans" for a "giant equity stake" gives him at least two different paths to claim he never lied about the situation if and when he gets equity.
The Emperor never requests favours. Instead, ambitious Senators must guess his desires and offer them to him, at which point a song and dance is done about his refusing and the Senate insisting and him, reluctantly, accepting the honor.
Believable in revolution—for every George Washington and Sulla we have dozens of Pinochets and Putins. After that, however, it’s a stupid lie. The emperor wants things and wants it to look like he was forced to accept it. This is the signature of despots, not even monarchs.
Paul Graham said: “Sam is extremely good at becoming powerful.”
Altman is a predator; people respect their power even if they fear their motives. The investor class love guys like him, because he doesn’t let ethics get in the way of seeking power. Same reason they loved Zuckerberg.
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I think here lies the interesting point. I’m not gonna try to mindread Sam and guess at what his true intentions are, but the investors’ intentions are clear: align Sam’s incentives with profit. I wish him the best of luck in navigating this.