--- title: "OpenAI Cofounder Who Pushed Out Sam Altman Is In a Confusing Limbo" description: "After moving to oust Sam Altman, OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever is in a sort of limbo, and nobody seems to know what will happen next." date: "2023-12-08" modified: "2023-12-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ilya-sutskever-openai-limbo" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" - "OpenAI" tags: - "ilya sutskever" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # OpenAI Cofounder Who Pushed Out Sam Altman Is In a Confusing Limbo ![After moving to oust Sam Altman, OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever is in a sort of limbo, and nobody seems to know what will happen next.]() *\Image: Justin Sullivan / Jack Guez / AFP via Getty / Futurism\* ## Do The Limbo After [moving to oust Sam Altman](), OpenAI cofounder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is in a sort of limbo, and nobody seems to know what will happen next. As [*Business Insider* reports]() based on interviews with people in the know — who spoke on the condition that their identities remain anonymous — it remains unclear what role Sutskever will play in the AI firm moving forward after turning on Altman just before OpenAI's [Thanksgiving week massacre](). "Ilya is always going to have had an important role," one of those insiders said. "But, you know, there are a lot of other people who are picking up and taking that responsibility that historically Ilya had." Ouch. Before the incredible failed coup at the company, Sutskever was far from a household name, and fewer still knew who he was before ChatGPT burst onto the scene a year ago. Known primarily for his outlandish statements about [algorithmic sentience](), the Russian-born researcher is considered something of an "[AI god]()" by his acolytes — and now is thought of as a traitor to others who think he won't be able to come back from voting alongside two fellow (and now former) OpenAI board members to fire Altman as CEO over [vague accusations of dishonesty](). ## What's Going On According to two insiders who spoke to *BI*, Sutskever hasn't been seen in the firm's San Francisco offices all week, and his position within the company is "to be determined," one of those sources said. This isn't exactly surprising given that Altman hinted pretty explicitly in his [note following his re-hiring]() as CEO that although he has "[zero ill will]()" towards his fellow cofounder, the company is nevertheless "discussing how he can continue his work at OpenAI." In an [interview with *The Verge*](), however, the CEO did admit that he was "hurt and angry" that Sutskever had essentially shanked him Brutus-style. Sutskever, for his part, has also been making some vague statements online suggesting continued tumult at OpenAI. In one since-deleted tweet, he [posted a reference]() to the memetic phrase "the beatings will continue until morale improves," which he said "applies more often than it has any right to." In [another post]() made on his art Instagram, this one still up, he posted a stern-looking cloud head — though that one, at least, looks more like the artist himself than any of his coworkers. As *BI*'s sources described, the working relationship between Altman, Sutskever, and Greg Brockman — the other cofounder who [resigned in solidarity]() with the CEO after his ouster, and who was [brought back upon his return]() — has soured tremendously. "Once trust is broken," one former staffer explained, "it cannot be regained." **More on OpenAI**: [*Sam Altman's Right-Hand Man Says AI Is Overhyped*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()