Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI

Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by n_ary on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:07AM (#38316793)

While I don’t know what is happening in OpenAI, from my experience(long enough to have an opinion), top people often leave when the employer is doing well or passing the last hurdle because, by that time the employer has gained adequate presence and brand identity that anyone leaving can immediately end up in top FAANG or equivalent Corps with much better benefits and of course pay/equity and other things.

Only time employees leaving is a bad sign had been when the company had been in zombie mode too long(few years) and haven’t delivered anything yet or still in alpha/beta stage with crappy deliveries no one is using or has no significant uptake.

Also, if there are financial difficulties, then a lot of people leave in droves and some actually come back after finances get better.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by siquick on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:09AM (#38316808)

FAANG would probably be viewed as a step down from OpenAI at this point (or at least until today)

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by LudwigNagasena on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:25AM (#38316912)

Which is exactly why you can expect a good position and lots of benefits.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by dkarras on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:37AM (#38317002)

does not matter, even CEO of Facebook role is a step down. This is a different game. I doubt these people have to work anymore. they are after something else.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by LudwigNagasena on Saturday November 18, 2023 @04:36AM (#38317422)

If you are a bright mid-career FAANG engineer, you probably don’t have to work. You can just move to Vietnam and live comfortably on your savings.

And people who are invested into “social impact” still care about their wealth and well-being despite living luxurious lives by the standards even of the developed world, let alone all other countries.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by fnfjfk on Saturday November 18, 2023 @06:45AM (#38318396)

Err, how do you just “move to Vietnam” as a non-Vietnamese citizen? You’d need a visa and thus a job surely?

Like, sure you’d be able to live off your savings if you were allowed to stay in the country, but most countries have a short limit on a tourist visa and then you’d need to leave…

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by Obscurity4340 on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:17AM (#38316867)

Nothing wrong with greener pastures/lower steppes

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by 9dev on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:19AM (#38316874)

I don’t know if people realise that there really isn’t any more prestigious place to work at right now than OpenAI. You don’t leave there for a better opportunity.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by mcny on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:30AM (#38316949)

> I don’t know if people realise that there really isn’t any more prestigious place to work at right now than OpenAI. You don’t leave there for a better opportunity.

My guess is they know something we don't Or they assume sama being fired means the trajectory of OpenAI as a company has changed or is likely to change significantly?

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by ZiiS on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:26AM (#38316922)

They can ask for huge salary bumps which may provide better opportunities for thier families.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by resolutebat on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:32AM (#38316962)

OpenAI pay is competitive enough (remember the articles last week about $10M offers?) and there's still plenty of room for their stock to go up. IPO or full acquisition by MS would both translate to a huge payday.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by gandutraveler on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:27AM (#38316930)

Unless Sam is already forming a new AI company.

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by amatecha on Saturday November 18, 2023 @04:07AM (#38317219)

People who work at places of high prestige, especially in senior roles, are often the kind of people who take part in creating those "better opportunities". :)

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by fsckboy on Saturday November 18, 2023 @04:08AM (#38317223)

>there really isn’t any more prestigious place to work at right now than OpenAI. You don’t leave there for a better opportunity.

it's like you wrote this comment yesterday, and not in the context of what has happened

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by 9dev on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:08PM (#38323804)

It’s like we’re talking about the motivation of people who left a company and thereby created the very context that happened?

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by aidaman on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:12AM (#38316829)

yea you missed the thing that happened lol

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Re:Three senior researchers have resigned from OpenAI by BoorishBears on Saturday November 18, 2023 @03:48AM (#38317064)

> While I don’t know what is happening in OpenAI

Would it really have been so hard to find out Sam Altman just got fired without notice?

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