Allegations of Mismanagement: Former Open Air Board Member's Concerns

Helen Toner's public criticism reveals a long-standing issue of mistrust and miscommunication within the company's leadership, particularly with Sam Altman.

### Helen TONER's Revelations on Chargeability and Trust Issues at OpenAI
* 😲  Helen TONER, a former board member of OpenAI, revealed that the board was unaware of the original 2022 launch of Chargeability and only found out about it later, **sparking controversy**.
* 🔥  TONER criticized the company's current leadership, particularly Sam Altman, accusing them of **keeping the board misinformed, uninformed, or manipulated**.
* ❓  Her revelations shed light on the **long-standing trust issues and miscommunication** within OpenAI, providing insights into the circumstances that led to **Altman's ouster last year**.
* 💬  TONER's public statements have intensified the ongoing discussion about the company's **governance and transparency**.
* 💥  The core issue seems to be Altman's push to **commercialize the technology**, with different iterations of the board being **unaware of his actions**.
* 🌐  The recent controversy surrounding the use of Scarlett Johansson's voice without her consent has further **eroded trust in OpenAI's leadership**.
* 🛡️  In response to the growing distrust, OpenAI is now making efforts to be **more transparent**, but the situation remains **tense**.

Helen TONER is a former board member of Open Air and has actually said that the board didn't know about the original 2022 launch of Chachi Beaty until afterwards, and that they only found out about it on, well, Twitter or X. Let's bring in Seth Green for more on what seems to be more discussion in the press coming from Helen TONER. She had already written a piece with Tash as well, another previous board member, about some of their worries about air governance. This keeps building. Yeah, I mean, it's remarkable. We have a former board member who's just going rogue at this point and really bashing the company, or at least its current leadership. The claim about Chargeability is remarkable. Here's their biggest, best known product. And they're saying that the board had no previous awareness that it was going to be launched. Now, there's a caveat there. When they released this product, it was

kind of a slow burn.
Initially, people didn't know it was going to be as big as it became. But the bigger takeaway from this piece is that she's really getting at the idea that there was a long series of times where they were either misinformed, uninformed, or felt like they were being manipulated by Sam Altman. And for months now, it's been a guessing game in Silicon Valley. What precipitated the ouster last year? This is really the most that we've seen so far that gets at that question. Seth, as you know, I remember the weekend of Sam Altman's ouster and tone. It didn't pick up the phone. She hadn't had much to say. Then in the last 24 hours or 48 hours, she's had quite a lot to say. But the issue is the relationship with Sam. This is something Sam Altman told Bloomberg last year. Listen.

you have an incredible amount of power
at this moment in time. Why should we trust you?
You shouldn't. It's I think at this moment in time,
like people deserve basically as much time asking questions as they want.
And I'm trying to show up and do it. But more to that.
Like no one person should be trusted here.
I don't have super voting shares. Like, I don't want them.
The board can fire me. I think that's important.
So at its root, this Sam Altman pushing to commercialize the technology.
And then there's different iterations of the board who seem unaware.
I don't really know where to go next with that.
Well, you're right. Again, it's pretty remarkable.
I think there's been a drip, drip from Allen has become a little bit more
comfortable being public about her concerns.
You're right. For months, we really couldn't get much
detail. What we've heard is essentially that
there was a long simmering buildup of

mistrust and miscommunication.
And in her latest statements, we're seeing a little bit more on that
surface. The current context is that you can't
trust Sam when it comes to discussions with celebrities.
When it comes to that ultimately, is what people are now realizing.
Rightly or wrongly, what was cast into the public discourse has, of course,
been Scarlett Johansson and the calls at what time they happened and open.
I I'm really trying to lay out the order of occurrence of when they discussed
using the voice of Scarlett Johansson when that already talked actors and
actresses. But there is a feeling of distrust
growing. I think so. I think they're taking pains
now to be as transparent as they can be. What's funny is that for all of the
tension that they've have, a board member is never cross a famous actress.
I think that's where you're going to really lose the public.

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Helen Toner, a former board member of Open Air, revealed that the board was unaware of the original 2022 launch of Chachi Beaty until afterwards, causing a stir in the press.

Toner's public criticism suggests a long history of feeling misinformed and manipulated by Open Air's current leadership, particularly Sam Altman.

Her revelations are shedding light on the circumstances surrounding Altman's ouster from the company.

Lack of Trust and Transparency in a Powerful Position

There is a lack of desire to be trusted and a recognition of accountability in the position of power.

Sam Altman is driving the commercialization of technology with limited board awareness.

There is a growing level of public expression of concerns and a lack of transparency in communication.

The Growing Distrust in Sam's Celebrity Discussions

There is a growing sense of distrust in Sam's discussions with celebrities, particularly regarding Scarlett Johansson.

The lack of transparency is causing tension and may lead to a loss of public trust.

The board's interactions with the actress are also a concern for the public.