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--:-- Kara Swisher: Hi, everyone. I'm Kara Swisher. And I'm Scott Galloway. And this is an emergency crossover episode of Pivot and the Prof G Pod, because a lot of news just broke in the last few hours, especially because it's a Friday, and we need to discuss it. Let's start with a story I don't think anyone saw coming. Sam Altman is out as CEO of OpenAI.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [interrupting] Wait, hold on. Let me get that straight. Sam Altman is out? That’s huge.
--:-- Kara Swisher: [continuing] Yes. The board issued a statement saying, "Mr. Altman's departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue to lead OpenAI."
--:-- Scott Galloway: [reacting] "Not consistently candid" is a nice way of saying he lied. That’s a strong statement.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Exactly. And now, Mira Maradi, the Chief Technology Officer, is the interim CEO. Sam Altman himself posted on X, saying, "I love my time at OpenAI. It was transformative for me personally and hopefully the world a little bit. I love working with such talented people. I have more to say about what's next later."
--:-- Scott Galloway: [skeptical] "Not consistently candid" is corporate speak for "we caught you lying." This must have been serious. Boards don’t fire CEOs who created $90 billion in value lightly.
--:-- Kara Swisher: Agreed. I've been hearing from sources all night that there was a misalignment between profit and nonprofit goals. Developer Day was a turning point. Some call it a coup, others say it was about moving too fast without considering safety and diversity.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [speculating] Maybe he was working on a side project, like a chip company, without telling the board. That could explain the conflict.
--:-- Kara Swisher: [nodding] That’s plausible. The board’s statement was vague, leaving room for rumors. But I think there was a real issue here. Microsoft was caught off guard too. Satya Nadella didn’t know this was coming.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [emphatic] You don’t surprise Satya Nadella. That’s a sign of poor governance. If this was about direction, boards make bad decisions, but this feels more serious.
--:-- Kara Swisher: [agreeing] I think we’ll find out more soon. The board’s lack of transparency is shocking. They left it open to speculation, which is bad for a company this influential.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [reflecting] This could send a signal that CEOs aren’t above accountability. But it’s still a big deal. Sam Altman was seen as a responsible leader, and his exit is disappointing.
--:-- Kara Swisher: [moving on] Let’s switch gears. Elon Musk is in hot water again. He endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X, and now major advertisers like Disney, Apple, and IBM are pulling out.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [angry] This is appalling. He’s normalizing hate speech. The finance community’s silence is even more disturbing. Where are the leaders condemning this?
--:-- Kara Swisher: [frustrated] Exactly. People like Bill Ackman should speak up. It’s unacceptable to stay quiet when someone with Musk’s influence spreads hate.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [passionate] This is about principles. If you’re okay with anti-Semitism, you’re complicit. We need to hold people in power accountable.
--:-- Kara Swisher: [concluding] We’ll see how this unfolds. For now, it’s clear that governance and accountability are failing. Thanks for tuning in to this emergency episode. We’ll be back soon.
--:-- Scott Galloway: [joking] Emergency indeed. Stay tuned!
--:-- Announcer: This show was produced by Nishat Kirwa and Zoe Marcus. Brandon McFarlane engineered this episode. Thanks also to Claire Miller and Drew Burrows. Thanks for listening to Pivot and the Prof G Pod from New York Magazine and Vox Media. Obviously, we'll be back soon. [outro music fades out]
