Mira Murati, Bob Mcgrew and Barret Zoph were the three executives who in unison submitted their resignation letters to OpenAI, the company that designed ChatGPT, the big disruption in Artificial Intelligence at the end of 2022.

The reasons are not entirely clear, but are rumored to have to do with the now irrevocable decision to convert OpenAI into a for-profit firm. This breaks with one of the company's founding principles: to do all the research and development work but without seeking profitability.

This is a sensitive issue for many professionals in this industry. The potential of AI is enormous, as its capacity to generate content opens up unusual possibilities. In fact, the main derivative of this technology is a radical change for humanity: the ability to engage in dialogue and seek solutions with the machine as an interlocutor.

Therefore, the possibility of turning OpenAI into a for-profit organization worries many, as there are still blind spot areas regarding the potential of generative AI. Issues such as ideological, racial, and gender biases; cybernetic hallucinations; the use of personal data and copyright are sensitive for the future.

In response to the announcement by its executives, Sam Altman, the company's current CEO, posted on his X account. There he points out that the departures of his business partners are not related to each other and that he was very saddened by the announcements.

“When Mira informed me this morning that she was leaving, I was saddened but of course support her decision. For the past year, she has been building out a strong bench of leaders that will continue our progress.”, he explained, alluding to the departure of Murati, who until today was OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer.

i just posted this note to openai:

Hi All–

Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company.

When Mira informed me this morning that…

— Sam Altman (@sama) September 26, 2024

There are many questions about this move in the company. Most of the media that have recorded the fact point to the announcement that OpenAI will now move as a for-profit company. No one knows what the consequences of this decision may be, because AI is not only a great technology, but also an area with many gray areas that could generate distrust among potential investors.

The firm is currently in the process of raising a round of capital that is expected to leave it at a valuation of close to US$150 billion; Sam Altman would hold close to 7% of that stake, according to Bloomberg.

In this play there are still many chapters to be written.