Opinion: Sam Altman’s OpenAI drama shows we need decentralised AI

The tech world was in shock last weekend as OpenAI announced a leadership shake-up. Last Friday, the Silicon Valley titan announced that Sam Altman would step down as CEO. A statement said that he had not been “consistently candid in his communications with the board.” After a chaotic few days in Silicon Valley, Microsoft said Monday it had enlisted Altman to lead the firm’s artificial intelligence arm. For a moment it looked like his team members would join him but now Altman is returning to OpenAI with a new board. There’s a lot to unpack here. But one thing is clear: this is AI’s moment. Let’s make sure decentralisation wins. 

Why we need decentralised AI 🙏

Altman is one of this technology’s pioneers, so the news came as a surprise. But in a sense, it doesn’t matter whether Altman is with OpenAI or Microsoft. He’ll have world-class talent following him anywhere. And they’ll develop advanced tech like no other we’ve seen. Humanity has long wondered about how an Artificial General Intelligence world will look. That world is getting closer. 

“We want this tech to be as decentralised as possible to avoid recreating Web2.”

There’s also a question of what this means for tokens. The market responded to last weekend’s developments, and not only the OpenAI project Worldcoin. Decentralised AI projects have been rising with the market lately. Last weekend, the outperformers picked up pace once again. This is unsurprising. After all, decentralisation could have stopped OpenAI’s board from ousting one individual. We want this tech to be as decentralised as possible to avoid recreating Web2.

The tech world was watching closely as Sam Altman departed OpenAI. Within days, Microsoft had snapped him up to lead its AI research team, but he’s now returning to OpenAI (Photo: Eric Risberg/AP)

Getting ahead of the machines 🤖

The convergence of AI and tokens will create new possibilities. That’s what we’re shining a light on with our Collection, The AI Revolution. It features the likes of Fetch and Render, which are outpacing the broader market.

“The convergence of AI and tokens will create new possibilities.”

People are concerned about the future world we’re moving towards. I can understand why. I also think it’s dangerous to place individuals like Sam Altman on a pedestal. But I would reiterate that many talented people are working on this tech, and there are good reasons to be positive. Above all, though, we need decentralised solutions. I realise that Microsoft and OpenAI aren’t that. But I remain hopeful that this technology will bring us into a brighter future.

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