Support the Guardian

Fund independent journalism with £5 per month

Business Today
Business live
OpenAI ‘taps Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear’ to succeed Sam Altman as chief executive
Live  
OpenAI ‘taps Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear’ to succeed Sam Altman as chief executive
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Headlines
Autumn statement  
Tories will avoid tax cuts that promote inflation, pledges Hunt
Tories will avoid tax cuts that promote inflation, pledges Hunt
Environment  
Tax corporate polluters and rich to help tackle climate crisis, Jeremy Hunt told
Laboratories  
UK needs more space if it wants to be science superpower, ministers told
Science and technology  
Hunt to announce US-inspired scheme
EV mythbusters  
Do electric cars pose a greater fire risk than petrol or diesel vehicles?
Work  
Leeds tops league of places in the UK with the best-paying jobs outside London
Media  
MPs want UK national security law used to vet Barclay family’s Telegraph offer
Tata Steel  
Unions tell firm UK steelmaking is at risk if blast furnaces closed
Today's agenda
The question of who will run artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI is gripping Silicon Valley, after the shock dismissal of CEO Sam Altman on Friday night.

And after a flurry of speculation that Altman will return, it appears OpenAI’s board has selected Emmett Shear, co-founder of video streaming service Twitch, as its interim chief executive.

OpenAI had faced calls from investors to reinstate the ousted Altman.But Bloomberg reports that Shear, a computer scientist, has got the nod because “he appeared to recognise the existential threats that AI presented”, and has the expertise to lead a large engineering group.

Shear stepped down as chief executive officer of Twitch in March, saying he was now ready to move to the next phase of life, having become a father.

Shear would be OpenAI’s second interim CEO in under a week, as the board had initially appointed chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim CEO on Friday afternoon.

Altman has been regarded as the leading voice in the AI field since his company released ChatGPT in November 2022. But he was stunningly ousted from OpenAI on Friday night, with the board accusing him of “being not consistently candid in his communications”.

President and co-founder Greg Brockman quit the next day, saying he had been told he was being removed from the board, adding that he continues to “believe in the mission of creating safe AGI that benefits all of humanity.”

By Sunday, rumours were swirling that Murati was looking to rehire Alman and Brockman in some capacity.

Chief strategy officer Jason Kwon told staffers in a memo Saturday night that OpenAI is “optimistic” it can bring back Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and other key employees who departed in the wake of Altman’s sudden firing on Friday.

And there was excitement last night that a deal could be close, after Altman posted a picture of himself wearing an OpenAI visitor badge, writing, “first and last time i ever wear one of these.”

But the coup against Altman will not, it seems, be reversed.

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has told staff that Shear has a “unique mix of skills, expertise and relationships that will drive OpenAI forward,” according to a memo viewed by the New York Times.

But the decision could deepen a crisis precipitated by the board’s sudden ouster of Altman and its removal of its president, Greg Brockman, from the board on Friday, reports tech news site The Information.

The agenda
• 10am GMT: Eurozone construction PMI for September
• 3pm GMT: Conference Board leading economic index on US economy
• 6.45pm GMT: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to give 2023 Henry Plumb Memorial Lecture

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Opinion
Analysis  
Pressure on Hunt constrained by economic reality
Pressure on Hunt constrained by economic reality
Hollywood ending unlikely for Jeremy Hunt, with progress on economy slow
Larry Elliott
Did the US Federal Reserve rein in inflation? Possibly
Jeffrey Frankel
Analysis  
Britain wants new post-Brexit deals – but has the EU moved on?
Sam Altman was the trusted face of AI. His firm, though, is much more complex
John Naughton
Analysis  
Black Friday strike could mark the beginning of the end for Amazon’s war on unions
 
Guardian Weekly

Black Friday Offer: 1/3 off annual subscription

Seize the chance to get engrossed in world news for a lot less. For a third off the asking price, you’ll reap all the benefits of one compact weekly magazine that’s brimming with handpicked articles from the Guardian and Observer.

 
Media
Carole Cadwalladr  
Rights groups back Observer writer over court costs
Rights groups back Observer writer over court costs
A new model for digital media?  
What Karlie Kloss’s acquisition of i-D means
Spotlight
Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says
The great carbon divide  
Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says
‘Polluter elite’ are plundering the planet to point of destruction, says Oxfam after comprehensive study of climate inequality
Popular on business
‘Harmless’ fraud soars in UK amid cost of living crisis
‘Harmless’ fraud soars in UK amid cost of living crisis
Revealed: obesity jab maker discussed targeting benefit claimants with UK government
Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigns after network outage
Britain can’t borrow at these high interest rates, so we must tax the rich
Phillip Inman
Co-op and Aldi champagnes beat Veuve Clicquot in Which? taste test
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
 

… there is a good reason why people choose not to support the Guardian.

Not everyone can afford to pay for the news right now. That's why we choose to keep our coverage of Westminster and beyond, open for everyone to read. If this is you, please continue to read for free.

Over the past 13 years, our investigative journalism exposing the shortcomings of Tory rule – austerity, Brexit, partygate - has resulted in resignations, apologies and policy corrections. And with an election just round the corner, we won’t stop now. It’s crucial that we can all make informed decisions about who is best to lead the UK.

Here are three good reasons to choose to support us today.

1

Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more.

2

We are independent and have no billionaire owner controlling what we do, so your money directly powers our reporting.

3

It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message.

Choose to power the Guardian’s journalism for years to come, whether with a small sum or a larger one. If you can, make the choice to support us on a monthly basis from just £2. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. Thank you.

 
Manage your emails | Unsubscribe | Trouble viewing?
You are receiving this email because you are a subscriber to Business Today. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396