Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP 14:45 p.m. on November 22, 2023

A few days after his dismissal from the start-up that created ChatGPT, Sam Altman will finally return to OpenAI. Microsoft had announced that it had hired him on Monday and Emmett Shear, former boss of Twitch, had said he had accepted the position of number 1 of OpenAI on an interim basis.

OpenAI announced on Tuesday night the return of its co-founder Sam Altman to its head, a few days after his dismissal from the start-up that created ChatGPT. "We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO" with changes to the board of directors led by Bret Taylor and the arrival of Larry Summers and Adam D'Angelo, the company said in a message posted just after 22 p.m. on Tuesday night in California, or 7 a.m. on Wednesday in Paris.

"We're working on the details. Thank you for your patience during this time," the startup added in the post. Sam Altman, whom Microsoft announced on Monday it was hiring, three days after his dismissal from OpenAI, said he had the support of Satya Nadella, the boss of Microsoft, to return to the head of OpenAI.

Nearly 700 and 770 employees had threatened to resign

"With the new board of directors and Satya's support, I look forward to returning to OpenAI and building a strong partnership" with Microsoft, the Silicon Valley star wrote on X (formerly Twitter). On Monday, former Twitch boss Emmett Shear even announced that he had accepted the position of OpenAI's No. 1 on an interim basis.

I love openai, and everything i've done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya's support, i'm...

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023

According to a letter published by several U.S. media outlets, nearly 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees have threatened to quit if 38-year-old Sam Altman does not return. The release of the first version of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022 kicked off a race for so-called generative artificial intelligence, i.e. capable of creating content (text, images, sounds) on demand in everyday language.

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Generative AI is believed to have the potential to transform entire sectors of the economy. It arouses enthusiasm, but also strong concerns about its possible danger to democracy (massive disinformation) or employment (replaced professions), in particular.