logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
52m 9s

The Big Crazy at OpenAI

Slate Podcasts
About this episode

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss Sam Altman’s triumphant return to OpenAI and ponder the future of the artificial intelligence industry. They also discuss the legal woes of crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. Finally: the economic policies of Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei.

In the Plus segment: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers joins OpenAI’s board of directors

Podcast production by Jared Downing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Oct 4
Argentina First?
This week: Felix Salmon finally gets to nerd out on Argentina's economy as Trump goes against the GOP playbook by bailing the country out to the tune of $20 billion. Felix, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck break down why this is such an unusual move, how it shows Trump’s favoriti ... Show More
54m 25s
Sep 30
Money Talks: How Basquiat's Art Became a Good Investment
In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by Doug Woodham, author of the upcoming biography Jean-­Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon, to discuss Basquiat’s path to becoming a darling of the art market. They discuss the idiosyncrasies of the art market and why Basquiat – the ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 27
Three-Headed AI Unicorn
This week: NVIDIA has announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI to help build out data centers equipped with NVIDIA chips. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, joined by Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin, examine the complexities of this massive deal and why it might feed th ... Show More
57m 44s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The messy human drama behind OpenAI
The company behind ChatGPT pushed out its CEO Sam Altman on Friday. OpenAI's board gave the public little insight into its controversial decision. On Sunday, Microsoft announced it was hiring Sam Altman. By Monday morning, hundreds of OpenAI employees are threatening to leave unl ... Show More
9m 29s
Nov 2023
Emergency podcast: chaos at OpenAI
The Verge's Nilay Patel and Alex Heath join David Pierce after a long, winding weekend reporting on the dramatic shakeup at OpenAI, still in progress. Further reading: Turmoil at OpenAI: after firing Sam Altman, what's next for the creators of ChatGPT? Sam Altman fired as CEO of ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 2024
Sam Altman's Opaque Investment Empire
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has a day job and a side gig. Only one of them makes him rich. WSJ's Berber Jin explains how Altman makes most of his wealth through investing in tech startups and how some of those startups' business relationships with OpenAI raise questions about conflicts ... Show More
22m 10s
Nov 2023
OpenAI Chaos Continues as Most of Staff Threatens to Quit
Episode 196: Neal and Toby discuss the latest drama surrounding Sam Altman's departure from OpenAI and why employees are threatening to leave the AI giant if he isn't reinstated as CEO. Plus why the Cruise CEO stepped down and what are the benefits of Argentina adopting the dolla ... Show More
26m 32s
Jul 2023
Prof G Markets: Inflation’s Descent, Sam Altman’s SPAC, and Private Equity’s Latest Target
This week on Prof G Markets, Scott breaks down what the latest inflation data means for the American economy. He then shares his thoughts on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman taking a nuclear power company public via SPAC. Finally, he explains why private equity firms are circling mom-and-po ... Show More
44m 6s
Apr 2024
Sam Altman & the Battle for OpenAI | Is OpenAI Out of the Woods? | 4
A lot has happened at OpenAI since that whiplash week in November 2023 when the board ousted its chief executive. There was an investigation to determine whether Sam Altman’s firing was just, and a lawsuit from OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk. Meanwhile, the company’s competition has ... Show More
41m 32s
Jun 2024
OpenAI Co-Founder Sutskever Announces New AI Research Lab
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bloomberg Businessweek Features Writer Ashlee Vance discusses Ilya Sutskever, the famed researcher who co-founded OpenAI, introducing a new venture called Safe Superintelligence aiming to create a safe, powerfu ... Show More
48m 47s
Nov 2023
Sam Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO Amid Chaos
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Mandeep Singh and Bloomberg Technology Executive Editor Tom Giles discuss Sam Altman heading back to lead OpenAI less than five days after he was pushed out of one of the world’s most valuable startups, setting off a shock back-and ... Show More
42m 51s
Nov 2023
Sam Altman in Negotiations to Come Back as OpenAI CEO
In this episode, we delve into the unfolding story of Sam Altman potentially returning to the helm of OpenAI as CEO. We explore the implications of this move for the company and the broader AI industry. Invest in AI Box: https://republic.com/ai-box 
5m 42s