Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO announced on Tuesday that Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and top scientist at OpenAI has left the company.
Altman in his own words expressed his feelings by saying that Ilya is easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend. His brilliance and vision are well known; his warmth and compassion are less well known but no less important.
He also thanked Sutskever for his contributions to OpenAI and pledged to continue the work they started.
Jakub Pachocki is taking over Sutskever’s role. Pachocki joined OpenAI in 2017 and has been involved in various AI projects, including the creation of a system that beat human players in a popular game.
Right now, it’s unclear if Pachocki will also lead the Superalignment team, which focuses on ensuring AI systems are safe and ethical. Another co-founder, Jan Leike, has also left the company.
The Superalignment team was created to develop ways to control brilliant AI systems. John Schulman, another co-founder, will now oversee this team. The team’s structure might change to align better with OpenAI’s goals.
Greg Brockman, the president of OpenAI, praised Sutskever for his role in shaping the company. Sutskever’s departure marks the end of a period that started with disagreements within OpenAI last November.
Before Thanksgiving last year, Sutskever and Mira Murati, OpenAI’s CTO, raised concerns about the company’s direction under Altman’s leadership.
This led to tensions within the board, resulting in Altman’s brief removal. However, he was later reinstated, and most of the old board members resigned. Sutskever never returned to work after this incident.
Sutskever, known for his computer science and AI work hasn’t said anything about his next project yet. However, he expressed confidence that OpenAI will continue its mission of creating safe and beneficial AI. He also thanked everyone at OpenAI and said he would miss working with them.
