The AI revolution burst onto the scene in the later parts of 2022 and pretty much took over the headlines for the whole of last year.
It was like the late 90s web craze all over again – techies, students, and big corporations were all scrambling to figure out what the heck was going on and how they could ride the AI wave to success. Just like back in the day when everyone pretended to be an internet expert, now every corporation and tech whiz had to throw around AI terms to stay cool in every conversation.
Then, in a plot twist that felt like something out of a suspenseful novel, the AI saga took a wild turn in November. Sam Altman, the 38 year old co-founder of OpenAI, got the boot from his own company in a boardroom coup. No warning, no apparent reason – just drama.
The internet and mainstream media went full-on detective mode, trying to figure out why the board did what they they did. The theories were all over the place: maybe they didn’t trust him, perhaps they were miffed about OpenAI going all commercial when it was supposed to be, well, open!
Then there were whispers that some board members, who happened to run their own internet startups, were feeling a bit jealous. Rumor had it they were cooking up competing AI solutions and wanted Altman out of the picture.
But here’s where it gets even juicier. Within days, the board felt the heat from all corners and had to eat a slice of humble pie. They brought Altman back after public uproar, and guess what? Almost everyone at the AI company threatened to jump ship and join Sam as he set sail for Microsoft. Talk about a roller coaster ride!
This post is part of the What Happened in Tech in 2023 series.
