'Outright lying to the board': Former OpenAI board member reveals reasons why CEO Sam Altman was ousted

OpenAI's former board member Helen Toner recently revealed that the board was unaware of ChatGPT’s launch until it went public in November 2022. She was one of the board members held responsible for ousting Sam Altman from OpenAI for a brief period. She made this statement during an appearance on The Ted AI Show podcast. She also made shocking statement claiming that despite being a member of the board they learned about the launch of ChatGPT to general public on Twitter. 

This is the first time Toner has discussed the circumstances surrounding CEO Sam Altman’s dismissal and subsequent reinstatement. Toner, now the director of strategy at the Centre for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown, accused Altman of withholding information, misrepresenting facts, and lying to the board. 

Toner said, “Sam had made it really difficult for the board to actually do that job by, you know, withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening at the company, in some cases outright lying to the board.”

She highlighted that Altman did not disclose his ownership of the OpenAI startup fund, which eroded the board’s trust in him. By October 2023, the board was already considering his dismissal.

She explained that the board was primarily built to maintain safety and security of OpenAI. She said, “The board is a nonprofit board that was set up explicitly for the purpose of making sure that the company's, you know, public good mission was primary, was coming first over profits, investor interests, and other things.”

She further explained, “But for years, Sam had made it really difficult for the board to actually do that job by, you know, withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening at the company, in some cases outright lying to the board."

An OpenAI spokesperson told The TED AI Show they "are disappointed that Ms. Toner continues to revisit these issues”. An independent investigation by WilmerHale found that Altman’s firing resulted from a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust between the prior board and Altman. The investigation also noted that Altman was fired abruptly without a chance to respond

In March, Altman was reinstated by temporary board members including Brett Taylor, economist Larry Summers, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Instacart CEO Fiji Simo, former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, and Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann.

Toner’s revelations add to the ongoing controversies surrounding OpenAI. The company has faced multiple challenges recently, including the departure of several safety researchers who criticized its leadership.