Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman’s ‘unconstrained’ relationship with the truth
17,000-word investigation details Altman's alleged deception and the 2023 OpenAI board firing saga.
In a major investigative feature for The New Yorker, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ronan Farrow and co-author Andrew Marantz present a 17,000-word profile of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The piece, based on 18 months of reporting and multiple interviews with Altman himself, rigorously examines the CEO's reputation for deception, with one source characterizing him as being 'unconstrained by the truth.' The article serves as the definitive account of the dramatic November 2023 event where the OpenAI board suddenly fired Altman over concerns about his candor, only for him to be reinstated days later following employee and investor revolt.
Beyond the boardroom drama, the investigation delves into Altman's personal life, his complex investment portfolio, and his courting of Middle Eastern capital. Farrow notes that the story validates long-held suspicions about Altman's relationship with the truth, which have existed alongside his undeniable deal-making prowess that transformed a nonprofit research lab into a near-trillion-dollar private company. The reporter observes a shift during his investigation, with more people becoming willing to speak on the record about their concerns regarding Altman's tendency to 'stretch the truth.'
The profile raises critical questions that extend beyond Silicon Valley, interrogating whether the behavior of influential tech leaders like Altman poses a broader societal risk, especially as they steer technologies like artificial intelligence that will shape humanity's collective future. Published just before news broke of physical attacks on Altman's home, the piece focuses solely on the scrutiny of his professional conduct and character, separating the discussion of his business practices from the subsequent unacceptable violence.
- The 17,000-word New Yorker investigation is based on 18 months of reporting by Ronan Farrow and includes multiple interviews with Sam Altman.
- It provides the definitive account of Altman's 2023 firing by the OpenAI board over 'candor' concerns and his swift reinstatement.
- Sources describe Altman as 'unconstrained by the truth,' raising questions about leadership ethics in the AI industry's most powerful company.
Why It Matters
Scrutiny of the world's most influential AI CEO's trustworthiness has profound implications for how transformative technology is governed and deployed.