OpenAI's Ilya Sutskever “deeply regret[s]” participating “in the board's actions” and says he “never intended to harm OpenAI” and wants to “reunite the company”

I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.

@ilyasut 2023-11-20 Ilya Sutskever

Context & Ripple Effects

Sutskever's reversal comes after he had defended the ouster as necessary to protect OpenAI's mission at an all-hands meeting. His statement directly breaks with the board's contemporaneous position that its decision was the only way to defend that mission, creating a visible split in the leadership coalition.

The episode centers on whether OpenAI can restore operating cohesion after Brockman's account of the firing and board changes made the internal rupture public. Later coverage that Sutskever would not return to the board, despite discussions over continuing his work, shows how difficult a full institutional reset would be.

First-order effects

Sutskever's public regret weakens the board's unified justification for the leadership change and gives OpenAI staff and other stakeholders a prominent signal that reconciliation is being pursued.
The statement shifts Sutskever from a defender of the ouster to a potential bridge in negotiations over how OpenAI reunifies, while leaving the board's formal position unresolved.

Second-order effects

The board faces increased pressure to explain how its mission-based rationale and criticism of Altman's conduct can coexist with a key participant's reversal; that tension can complicate any settlement over leadership and governance.
OpenAI's ability to retain personnel and maintain partner confidence becomes tied to a credible resolution, rather than simply to restating the original board decision.

Third-order effects

The dispute illustrates how a nonprofit-style mission mandate can collide with the operational need for stable leadership in a commercially important AI lab; future governance designs will be tested on whether they can manage that conflict without public rupture.
If such crises recur, AI labs may face stronger demands for clearer board accountability, succession processes, and boundaries between safety oversight and executive control.

The trend: This is one data point in the broader struggle to make AI-lab governance capable of enforcing mission oversight without destabilizing the organizations it governs.

Discussion

@202accepted @202accepted on x
this is what ilya saw in the basement at OpenAI [image]
@alexisohanian Alexis Ohanian on x
Classy move by Ilya — he just publicly invalidated the rest of the board's claim.
@el33th4xor Emin Gün Sirer on x
Someone who cannot foresee the consequences of his actions in 3 days is in charge of developing AI. God help us all.
@borismpower Boris Power on x
Mistakes happen. Thank you Ilya, this is inspiring.
@joeljohnson @joeljohnson on x
I deeply regret my participation in these actions. I never intended to harm Jimmy John's. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite this franchise.
@jason_pontin Jason Pontin on x
What on Earth? Who, then, was the motivating force behind this governance farce?
@tszzl Roon on x
@ilyasut ♥️
@silvermanjacob Jacob Silverman on x
This is how you tank an $80 billion startup. Why wouldn't OpenAI staff, many of them Altman loyalists, follow their former boss to Microsoft?
@jaycaspiankang Kang on x
I didn't really take AI safety concerns all that seriously until I realized the whole thing is in the hands of impulsive weird children. Please hire one adult to hang out with you!
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
I can't even. Welcome to Silicon Valley, where every techie thinks they are Player One and they are really Yertle the Turtle.
@anammostarac Ana Mostarac on x
Celebrity apology statement be like
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
The plot thickens. I had pinned him as the organizer. Was there another mastermind? Or just groupthink from a noob board that doomscrolls more than they think independently?
@sama Sam Altman on x
❤️❤️❤️
@farokh @farokh on x
@ilyasut “I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.” [image]
@packym Packy McCormick on x
This sucks. The drama has been fun and the board/Ilya brought this outcome on themselves, but I can see trying to do the right thing, getting swept up and thinking it'll work out the way you planned, then watching your life's work fall apart and people you were close with walk...
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
[image]
@balajis Balaji on x
Wow. Does this mean the whole thing gets reversed, like a fire drill where everyone marches back into the building? Suppose it's theoretically possible as only ~72 hours of breakage has happened. Would need to learn if other board members also agree.
@mr_james_c @mr_james_c on x
“I came for the king. I missed.”
@koeppelmann Martin Köppelmann on x
I still have absolutely no idea what was going on internally, but one thing is very clear - OpenAI never had a governance structure remotely capable of handling issues that can affect humanity as a whole - and probably no company/small group has or will have.
@apompliano @apompliano on x
If the most entertaining outcome is the most likely, than Ilya joining Microsoft to get the band back together is all but guaranteed.
@mcbyrne @mcbyrne on x
For one day, SV became a place of hope where a member of the elite could face consequences. It's a bummer it didn't stick. Remember that Sam is just a rich dude who is liked by other rich dudes.
@loomdart @loomdart on x
ok ai is better than crypto now this is NUTS
@mattomattik @mattomattik on x
[image]
@adamconner @adamconner on x
As they say, if you come for the king you better be prepared for said king to go to the biggest tech company that also is your main financial backer and take all your staff and end up giving him all the resources he needs to actually create AGI without you. Very famous saying.
@oliviasolon Olivia Solon on x
Just when you thought it couldn't get any more chaotic...
@danshipper Dan Shipper on x
What is going on
@mdudas Mike Dudas on x
- stage coup - “win” - hire replacement ceo aligned with you - tweet you regret coup - ?
@llsethj Seth Weintraub on x
Only good answer is that the future AI went back in time to destroy this before it got AGI
@seyitaylor @seyitaylor on x
tragic. absolutely tragic.
@mdudas Mike Dudas on x
good god stop tweeting investors, partners and employees calling 1-800-lawyers rn
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
Masterclass f*up. A $80bn company destroyed in one move. Crazy to think about.
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Originally assumed this is one of those parody accounts on Twitter (you cannot trust blue ticks any more). But it's not: and so this is very confusing. The board is 4 people, Ilya one of them. All board decisions have serious consequences and board members (should) know this.
@atabarrok Alex Tabarrok on x
Shakespearen tragedy.
@kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x
sooooo when do we start getting transparency about why these decisions were made and who made them?
@nkulw Noah Kulwin on x
$86B business. Almost four Delta Airlines, or half of Disney
@blader Siqi Chen on x
the only way to reunite the company would be to join sama and gdb at microsoft.
@_fabknowledge_ @_fabknowledge_ on x
bro too late. you lost in the boardroom and as late as yesterday had a chance to put things right? I don't get how Adam is implied to be driving the boat now
@deljohnsonvc Del Johnson on x
Hahahah lol lmao! Blink twice if you're in a safe place.
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
Ilya speaks. But too late to fix it.
@kylebrussell Kyle Russell on x
Reveal what triggered your fear response, the public deserves to know what led to such drastic action Was there something beyond Custom GPTs giving you the heebie-jeebies

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