How OpenAI Went From Nonprofit To Empire - Karen Hao, Book Club (Part 1)

In part one of Empire of AI, Karen Hao traces how OpenAI started as a nonprofit built to stop Google from controlling artificial intelligence. The mission was simple: build AGI and distribute the benefits to all of humanity. Then Elon Musk left, took his money with him, and Bill Gates asked for something that could summarise books.That was enough. Microsoft wrote a billion dollar cheque and the empire began.Mark and Jeremy learn how Sam Altman spent years quietly positioning himself at the centre of Silicon Valley before anyone knew what AI was actually for.

They cover why only six black researchers attended the world's biggest AI conference in 2016 and what that says about who this technology was really being built for. They talk through the weekend Altman got fired by his own board and how every employee rallied to put him back. And they ask the one question the whole book keeps circling: was it ever really about humanity?

--

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to Empire of AI

(01:54) The Empire Strikes Back

(05:13) Karen Hao, The Journalist

(07:38) Do You Trust Open AI?

(10:18) Why OpenAI Made ChatGPT

(11:47) Scaling OpenAI

(12:33) Google, Deep Mind and Ai For humanity

(15:12) Greg Brockman

(17:02) Sam Altman's Personal Brand 24:46 Timnit Gebru

(25:25) How does AI benefit humanity?

--

Other ways to connect with us:

• ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠

• Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠

• Follow us on ⁠X⁠

• Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• Read our ⁠Substack⁠

• Email: [email protected]

Watch the book club on our dedicated YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/OfQu65-6GuA