OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has decided to halt operations and give employees time off as it faces a dispute with Meta over the recruitment of artificial intelligence (AI) specialists.
Meta, which recently announced its “superintelligence” labs, had been approaching OpenAI employees for its project. As a result, OpenAI executives decided to pause operations.
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According to internal memos obtained by Wired, OpenAI executives, including CEO Sam Altman and head of research Mark Chen, expressed frustration with Meta’s aggressive approach.
Four senior experts left Altman’s company to join Meta’s team, which was reportedly offering bonuses of up to $100 million to attract top talent.
In response, Altman called Meta “mercenary” and said OpenAI employees are more like “missionaries” with a long-term vision for the future of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
In messages sent via Slack to employees, Chen stated that he and other OpenAI executives were working “day and night” to retain talent at the company.
However, he made it clear that he did not intend to lay off workers just to match the exorbitant offers Meta was making. “I’ll fight to keep each of you, but not at the cost of fairness to others,” Chen wrote.
Still, OpenAI’s pause came at a time when many employees reported exhausting work weeks of up to 80 hours. Thus, the company seems to be aiming to give its workforce a chance to rest and recharge during this period.
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