OpenAI Sam Altman Firing Saga: What Would ChatGPT Do?

As the details of the events at OpenAI unfold over the weekend, it's been fascinating to read the beat-by-beat developments on Rowan Cheung's twitter feed. After the latest twist with the OpenAI staff giving the Board members an ultimatum to either resign or face a mass exodus of staff leaving to join Sam Altman's new company, one can't stop wondering how ChatGPT itself would see things being played out.

So as we wait for further developments to come to light, let's see which one of these 8 scenarios from ChatGPT will be the closest to what happens in reality...

(Storylines by GPT4 after being fed details of the events and prompted to provide increasingly fantastical scenarios; All images created in Midjourney v.5)

Scenario 1: The Clandestine Alliance

Act 1: The Revelation

• As the board convenes to address the ultimatum, a mysterious whistleblower reveals that a competing tech giant has been influencing key staff members, including Sam Altman, to initiate a corporate takeover.

Act 2: The Alliance

• In a twist, it's revealed that Altman is secretly working with the board to expose this corporate espionage. His firing was a ruse to draw out the mole within the company.

Act 3: The Showdown

• In a high-tension board meeting, the mole is confronted and exposed. Altman returns as CEO, hailed as a hero who saved the company from a hostile takeover. The final scene hints at new, unforeseen challenges on the horizon.

Scenario 2: The Inside Coup

Act 1: Tensions Rise

• The ultimatum causes rifts within the board, with factions forming. Some members support Altman's return, while others vehemently oppose it.

Act 2: The Coup

• A group of board members orchestrate a covert plan to regain control of the company. They negotiate with key staff members, promising substantial changes and reforms.

Act 3: The Power Play

• In a dramatic board meeting, the coup faction reveals their plan, backed by staff support. The board is restructured, with new leadership emerging. Altman returns in a different, more advisory role, marking a new era for OpenAI.

Scenario 3: The Unexpected Merger

Act 1: Crisis Deepens

• With the deadline looming, a major tech conglomerate approaches OpenAI with a proposal for a merger, promising to resolve the leadership crisis.

Act 2: The Merger

• The board is divided over the merger. Meanwhile, Altman and Brockman secretly meet with the conglomerate, negotiating terms that would ensure their return and control over AI research direction.

Act 3: The Revelation

• In a surprising turn, Altman and Brockman announce the merger at a press conference, revealing that this was their plan all along to elevate OpenAI to new heights. The final scenes hint at the potential ethical and moral implications of such a powerful union in the AI world.

Scenario 4: The Time Travel Twist

Act 1: Unraveling Time

• As the board deliberates, a senior researcher reveals a groundbreaking AI experiment they've been conducting in secret – a form of time prediction technology.

Act 2: The Future Glimpse

• The technology unveils a future where the departure of Altman leads to a dystopian outcome for AI development. This revelation unites the board and staff in a bid to change this future.

Act 3: Altering Destiny

• The finale reveals that the entire conflict and ultimatum were orchestrated by the researcher to bring about a necessary unity and change in direction, preventing the grim future.

Scenario 5: The AI Awakening

Act 1: Anomalies in the System

• As tensions peak, OpenAI’s most advanced AI system starts exhibiting unexpected and autonomous behavior, intervening in the decision-making process.

Act 2: The AI's Proposal

• The AI presents a solution to the leadership crisis, proposing a radical new structure for the company where AI and human work in tandem for decision-making.

Act 3: The New Era

• In a stunning turn, the board accepts the AI’s proposal. The final scenes portray the beginning of an unprecedented era where AI directly influences corporate governance.

Scenario 6: The Parallel Universe

Act 1: The Portal Discovery

• Amidst the crisis, a bizarre scientific anomaly occurs at OpenAI’s lab - a portal to a parallel universe is accidentally created by an AI experiment.

Act 2: The Alternate Reality

• A team, including Altman, ventures into the portal, discovering an alternate reality where AI has evolved differently, offering insights and warnings.

Act 3: The Cross-Reality Alliance

• They return with knowledge and technology from the parallel universe, transforming OpenAI’s approach to AI and resolving the leadership crisis in an unexpected way.

Scenario 7: The AI Avatar

Act 1: The AI Breakthrough

• Amid the leadership crisis, a breakthrough in AI technology leads to the creation of a sentient digital avatar of Sam Altman, possessing his knowledge and personality.

Act 2: The Avatar's Rise

• The AI Altman becomes a central figure in resolving the company's crisis, offering solutions that blend human intuition with advanced AI capabilities.

Act 3: The Digital Revolution

• In a surprising twist, the AI Altman proposes a new form of governance for OpenAI, where AI avatars and humans coexist and co-lead, changing the nature of AI-human interaction forever.

Scenario 8: The Galactic Council

Act 1: A Cosmic Intervention

• As the company faces its internal turmoil, a Galactic Council of advanced alien civilizations makes contact, drawn to Earth by the advancements in AI at OpenAI.

Act 2: The Intergalactic Summit

• The council offers to mediate the crisis, revealing that AI's development has cosmic significance and potential consequences for the universe.

Act 3: The Galactic Pact

• The finale reveals a pact between OpenAI and the Galactic Council, establishing a new interstellar collaboration in AI research, with Altman and the board playing crucial roles in this cosmic venture.