SewingAI

Analogy for Becky on the state of OpenAI.

Imagine if you started a sewing pattern company named SewingAI.

You are the CEO.

This company uses AI to generate sewing patterns. Very cool!

SewingAI is a non-profit, because your mission is to ensure that SewingAI benefits all of humanity, not to make money.

This does mean that you don't make money either. All profits go back into the mission.

Like any company, a board is put in place to keep the CEO accountable, and discuss how the company is doing. Lisa is the Chair of the board.

However, your investment has dried up, and you're struggling to find money to keep developing your sewing pattern AI.

Enter; Spotlight

Spotlight thinks your AI is very cool too!

Spotlight is offering you $10bn of gift cards, in exchange for access to your sewing pattern AI.

This is a great deal because you need fabric and sewing machines to test your AI, and Spotlight wants people to buy fabric.

You create another company to separate it from the non-profit. Spotlight gets 49% of the new company, and SewingAI gets 51%.

Everything is going great!

People are using the AI to make patterns, Spotlight is offering the AI in their stores, people are buying fabric, and the AI is getting better with every release!

SewingAI is now worth $89bn.

The Board

One day the board calls you. The Chief Scientist and board member, Nat, says you are fired.

The board has fired you because they say you were "not consistently candid in your communications."

Lisa, the Chair, was not made aware of this decision either.

Nat has clearly conspired against you to stage a coup.

Lisa resigns in solidarity with you.

Confusion

Everyone is confused for the next few days.

You and Lisa are talking to investors about starting another sewing pattern AI company.

Spotlight is livid.

The media is in a frenzy.

SewingAI is in talks to bring you back on board, but you are "ambivalent" about returning, and understandably, would demand "governance changes" so this can't happen again.

A group of 700 SewingAI employees even says they'll quit if the board doesn't resign, and bring you back.

Hope?

What happens next, is unexpected.

Spotlight offers to bring you on instead.

This amazing because you'll still be able to work on the sewing pattern AI!

Even better, you'll now be able to make money from the AI and even get money from Spotlight shares!

Better still, they'll bring on Lisa as well.

You take the deal, because there's no losing.

Spotlight even agrees to bring on any SewingAI employees that want to come over too.

Acquisition

At the end of the day, Spotlight has essentially acquired a $89bn company, for only $10bn.

Nat, the Chief Scientist, also apologises, regrets participating, and joins Spotlight too…!

"What?!"

I know…