InterviewUC&C1 Dec 2023 · 4 min read

What Might The OpenAI Saga Mean For the UC Industry?

It's been over a week since Sam Altman's return as OpenAI CEO, four days after being ousted by its board.

It's been over a week since Sam Altman's return as OpenAI CEO, four days after being ousted by its board.

While it would be a stretch to say the dust has settled, events have certainly calmed down, giving fascinated onlookers time to reflect on the saga and what it might portend for OpenAI — and also its largest investor, Microsoft.

To recap as succinctly as possible, Altman was ousted as OpenAI CEO by its board on Friday, November 17. Following an indignant response from OpenAI investors and employees, Altman and the board discussed a potential return over the following weekend before discussions broke down. Microsoft then released a statement saying it had hired Altman and Brockman to manage an advanced AI research team overnight on Sunday, but this turned out to be premature.

Last Monday, a letter signed by over 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees demanded the board's resignations and Altman's return; otherwise, they would leave themselves to follow Altman to Microsoft. On Tuesday night Pacific Time, Altman was reinstated, the previous board was removed, and a new interim one was put into its place to oversee the hiring of the next permanent group.

Drama worthy of a prestige TV show, for sure, as Evan Kirstel, Social Media Strategist at BCStrategies, affirmed to UC Today.

"This is basically the season finale of Game of Thrones: AI edition," Kirstel said, "it's probably the most exciting boardroom drama since Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple all those years ago. in terms of melodrama, you couldn't ask for more."

But, like the best TV dramas, it's a story with meaningful themes as well as entertainment, as Craig Durr, Senior Analyst at Futurum Group, observed to UC Today.

"It highlights governance," Durr explained. "This is a very unique situation that has a 5013 public entity managing a for-profit business. And the path that took place to allow very quick decisions. If you think about it, the non-profit has a goal that says, 'We want to make AI safe', while a for-profit entity has a responsibility to shareholders to make money. You've got built-in governance issues from the top of the way this unique thing is organised."

Durr also noted that it was "interesting" that Microsoft is unlikely to be offered one of the new board seats, given its level of investment in OpenAI and the likelihood it would want assurances for the future. "Governance is a big thing I think will be coming up here," he added.

For Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, the big winner of the saga was Microsoft.

"I mean, if no press is bad press, all this did was raise awareness of Microsoft and OpenAI for everybody," Kerravala said. "I was at the gym, and my trainer asked me about it, and there's no way this guy would ever have given a rat's a** about something going on at Microsoft, but that's how big this news has become."

That this became such a colossal, global news story could also impact how AI is perceived, understood, and, ultimately, regulated, as Kerravala attested to.

"I think just for the evolution of AI and how it gets integrated into things, the more attention that's brought to this, the better, both from a regulatory standpoint but also just from an innovation standpoint," Kerravala continued. "I think Sam Alman being head of that company and Microsoft leaving it alone to do the things that it needs to do is actually the right structure for that company. But even if they change that down the road, I think all this leads to more innovation, which is good for everyone."

Durr also said the melodrama might have a wider industry and cultural influence — including in the UC space. It "exposes who has dependencies on a single or primary AI vendor", he argued.

"Obviously, we know about Microsoft and Copilot, and they're starting to message that they have other platforms in place. But it plays really well for someone who came out really strong, like Zoom with their Federated AI story, saying, 'We use multiple LLMs and multiple vendors'. It's interesting if that continues to be the trend and lessens single dependency."

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