AI doomsayers blamed in OpenAI's undoing

Editor's note: The company that created ChatGPT is in turmoil after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many more employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part on the safest way to build artificial intelligence. The developments have shaken the AI field and fueled speculation about the future of OpenAI.

SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI has gone from ruling the world of artificial intelligence with ChatGPT to chaos, its chief executive ousted seemingly for advancing too fast and too far with the technology.

The exit of Sam Altman set in motion a series of events that saw the upstart company's biggest investor, Microsoft, swoop in to hire the toppled CEO and begin a process of building an OpenAI clone in the tech giant.