That defeats the purpose of having a board. Which is sometimes the desired outcome, of course, but if I were Microsoft I am not sure I’d want Sam in there with zero checks and balances.

I also wouldn’t want Ilya in there without checks and balances, to be clear. So the challenge is identifying the right adults.

I don’t think it’s realistic to expect that negotiation to complete successfully in the eyes of all parties by 5 PM today. It’s possible that Ilya will give up on having his requirements satisfied and leave.

If Sam returns he doesn't want to risk getting ousted again? So presumably he'll appoint people 100% loyal to him.

Plenty of precedent for tech founders to have total board control. It will take a little while for Sam to consolidate power, but he won't forget what happened this weekend and he'll play the long game accordingly.

Big investors like Microsoft won't want a board that is utterly subservient to the CEO.

Sam isn’t the only person who has to agree to the members of the new board. Sam also has not displayed a mastery of board politics in the past, either at OpenAI or at Y Combinator. Of course he has a strong hand to play here, but then again so does Microsoft.

Is it assumed that Sam would be more aligned with Microsoft than not? From a vague awareness only, I'd guess that Microsoft wants to wield OpenAI against rivals, and SamA wouldn't find it unappealing to be bigger than Zuckerberg?