In the grand theater of Silicon Valley, where drama and disruption are as common as hoodies and overpriced lattes, the saga of Sam Altman's ousting and subsequent reinstatement at OpenAI unfolded like a plot rejected for being too implausible even for a daytime soap opera.

There was Altman, once comfortably ensconced in the CEO throne, as integral to OpenAI as confusing user agreements are to software updates. Then, in a move that shocked the tech world as much as a fully charged smartphone lasting a whole day, he was suddenly fired. The board, shrouded in mystery and ambiguity, cited a lack of candor. In the tech world, "lack of candor" is a euphemism for "we're not telling you the real reason," much like "it's not you, it's me" in a break-up.

But then, like a scene straight out of a Silicon Valley Shakespearean drama, the employees, nearly 700 of them, rose in revolt. They threatened to depart unless Altman and Brockman were reinstated. It was a display of loyalty usually reserved for rock stars or, in this case, tech gurus who, let's face it, probably can't play a single chord on a guitar.

Enter Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist and one of the key figures in Altman's firing, who then publicly expressed regret over his actions. It was a reversal so swift it could cause whiplash, the kind you'd expect in a plot twist that's trying too hard.

While this Shakespearean comedy (or was it a tragedy?) was playing out, Microsoft, like a wealthy uncle in a family feud, stepped in to offer Altman a sanctuary. It was like watching a game where the players are part tech geniuses, part high school drama club members.

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, and the drama had peaked, OpenAI decided to reinstate Altman, completing a narrative arc that would make even the most seasoned soap opera viewers raise their eyebrows. The board, now featuring a new lineup, including the likes of Bret Taylor and Larry Summers, welcomed him back. It was a comeback that would make Lazarus jealous, proving that in Silicon Valley, you can be down one day and up the next, as long as you have the right friends.

Through all this, one can't help but wonder, what exactly does a tech CEO do that warrants such fanatical allegiance? Are they coding savants, master strategists, or just really good at attending meetings? It's one of those Silicon Valley mysteries, like why every app insists on having a new update every other day.

In the end, the whole saga seemed less about the future of AI and more a demonstration of the peculiar cult of personality that permeates the tech world. It was a reminder that in Silicon Valley, the plot doesn't just thicken; it performs gymnastics. And somewhere, in the midst of all this, the AI itself, with its algorithms and neural networks, must have been quietly calculating the odds of human folly, because, after all, in the world of tech, even the robots need a sense of humor to deal with all the drama.

Copyright © 2023 by Paul Henry Smith

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