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OpenAI Sacks ChatGPT Star CEO Sam Altman

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OpenAI, the company that launched ChatGPT a year ago, said Friday it had dismissed CEO Sam Altman in a shock firing of a central figure in the AI revolution.

Altman became a tech world sensation with the release nearly a year ago of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot with unprecedented capabilities, churning out human-level content like poems or artwork in just seconds.

His dismissal caught the tech world by surprise, with rumors rife on social media as to the cause of the sudden sacking.

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A statement about the firing by OpenAI referred to its stated mission of making sure AI benefits everyone, and said that new leadership is needed for the company to move forward.

Fellow OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman was pushed from the company’s board in the shakeup and put out late in the day that he quit.

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“I’m super proud of what we’ve built… but based on today’s news, I quit,” Brockman said in a post at X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I continue to believe in the mission of creating safe AGI (artificial general intelligence)that benefits all of humanity.”

Analysts scrambled to interpret the shakeup, and the sacking of 38-year-old Altman, a Stanford University dropout, entrepreneur and computer coder.

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“It sounded as though there were some ethical concerns which pushed the board to do something,” said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.

If he is being ousted because of ethical concerns, that is only going to be good for the company.”

OpenAI’s board said that Altman’s departure followed a thorough review that found “he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.”

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The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” it concluded.

In a post on X, Altman said he “loved my time at OpenAI.”

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“It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit.”

He promised “more to say about what’s next later.”

The launch of ChatGPT ignited a race in AI — hailed as the next big chapter in technology — with contenders including tech giants Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta.

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Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has woven the company’s technology into its offerings, including search engine Bing.

Altman has testified before US Congress about AI and spoken with heads of state about the technology, as pressure ramps up to regulate against risks such as AI’s potential use in bioweapons, misinformation and other threats.

Altman will be replaced on an interim basis by Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, the statement said.

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Microsoft has a long-term agreement with OpenAI and remains “committed to our partnership, and to Mira and the team,” chief executive Satya Nadella said in a post.

Together, we will continue to deliver the meaningful benefits of this technology to the world.”

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– ‘Lots of empathy’ –

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believed that OpenAI’s momentum is unlikely to be slowed by Altman’s firing.

“Altman out as CEO of OpenAI is a shocker but ultimately Microsoft will just have more control of the situation,” Ives said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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“We see little concern going forward with him gone,” Ives added.

OpenAI’s board of directors includes OpenAI cofounder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.

Altman earlier this month led a major developers’ conference for OpenAI, announcing new products that were largely met positively in Silicon Valley.

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The young executive on Thursday told AFP he understood some of the worries over AI and its disruptive powers.

“(I have) lots of empathy for why anyone would feel, however they feel, about this,” he said of the platform that is credited with launching the revolution in generative artificial intelligence.

Altman was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco where he was swarmed by fans after his appearance, many of whom wanted to take selfies with him.

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US Revokes Visas Of Foreigners Who Mocked Kirk’s Assassination

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The United States has revoked the visas of several foreign nationals who publicly mocked or celebrated the killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The State Department said the decision followed an internal review of social media posts deemed “offensive and contrary to U.S. values,” adding that the country “has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.”

Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA and a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, was shot dead during a political rally on 10 September.

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His killing drew widespread condemnation across the political spectrum, with many describing the act as a targeted attack on free speech.

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According to U.S. authorities, at least six individuals from Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, and Germany had their visas revoked after making comments online that celebrated Kirk’s murder or insulted his supporters.

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Examples cited by officials included posts calling Kirk a racist who deserved it, and messages mocking grieving Americans.

We will not tolerate foreigners who promote or celebrate acts of violence against U.S. citizens,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The move underscores Washington’s growing use of immigration powers to respond to online behaviour perceived as threatening or disrespectful towards the country.

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The Department said it continues to monitor social media content for evidence of incitement or endorsement of violence.
Civil liberties advocates, however, have questioned the decision, arguing that revoking visas for social media comments could set a worrying precedent.

Officials maintained that the visa cancellations were lawful, limited in scope, and aimed at protecting national integrity.

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Freedom of speech does not extend to foreigners seeking the privilege of entry while glorifying violence,” the spokesperson added.

The United States has increased visa scrutiny in recent years, requiring applicants to disclose social media handles and online activity.

The policy, officials say, is designed to prevent extremist sympathisers or those expressing hostility towards the country from entering its borders

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Israeli PM Netanyahu Back In Court For Graft Trial

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a Tel Aviv court on Wednesday for the latest hearing in his long-running corruption trial, which opened in May 2020.

The prime minister kept a smiling face as he and his entourage of several ministers from his conservative Likud party were heckled by protesters en route to the tribunal.

It comes after US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that the Israeli premier should be pardoned in his three separate corruption cases.

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His latest appearance at the Tel Aviv court also follows the return of the hostages taken by Hamas as part of Trump’s US-brokered plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

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In one case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods, including champagne, cigars and jewellery, from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

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In two other instances, Netanyahu is also charged with attempting to negotiate better press coverage from two Israeli media outlets. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be the victim of a political plot.

During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts.

Those prompted massive protests that only abated after the onset of the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

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In an address on Monday to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Trump told the chamber that Netanyahu should receive a pardon in the graft cases.

“Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?” Trump joked, before asking his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog: “Why don’t you give him a pardon?”

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The Israeli premier is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of ordering war crimes in his government’s assault on Hamas militants in Gaza.

Netanyahu holds the record for the most years spent at the head of Israel’s government, having served 18 years in several stints as premier since 1996.

AFP

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FULL LIST: US Set To Carry Out Four Executions This Week

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A Florida man convicted of murdering two women he hired for sex was put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday, one of four executions to be carried out in the United States this week.

Samuel Smithers, 72, was sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1996 killings of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach in Tampa. They had been beaten and strangled and their bodies were found in a pond.

Smithers was executed at a Florida state prison at 6:15 pm (2215 GMT), the 14th execution in the southern state this year.

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Another convicted murderer was also put to death by lethal injection in the midwestern state of Missouri on Tuesday.

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The execution of Lance Shockley, 48, was carried out at 6:13 pm (2313 GMT) for the 2005 murder of a police sergeant, Carl Graham.

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Graham was gunned down in an ambush at his home. The officer had been investigating a fatal car accident involving Shockley at the time.

Shockley maintained his innocence but his appeals were rejected by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe rejected his clemency request on Monday.

Two other executions are scheduled this week.

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Charles Crawford, 59, is to be put to death by lethal injection in Mississippi on Wednesday for the 1994 rape and murder of Kristy Ray, a 20-year-old college student.

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Richard Djerf, 55, is to be executed by lethal injection in Arizona on Friday for the brutal 1993 murders of four members of a Phoenix family.

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In a letter last month apologizing for the crime, Djerf said he was ready to die and would not seek clemency.

“If I can’t find reason to spare my life, what reason would anyone else have?” he wrote.

There have been 37 executions in the United States this year, the most since 2013, when 39 inmates were put to death.

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Florida has carried out the most executions with 14, followed by Texas with five and South Carolina and Alabama with four.

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Thirty-one of this year’s executions have been carried out by lethal injection, two by firing squad and four by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.

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The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.

President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and, on his first day in office, called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

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