🤝🏼 Sam Altman RETURNS to OpenAI

📰 Industry News

• AO says mobile phone sales are down by 13% in the UK, amid the cost of living crisis.

• Britain’s Hotel Chocolat has been taken over by US giant Mars, in a deal worth £534 million ($662million)

• All of Amazon’s packaging in Europe is now fully recyclable.

• Amazon announces it will sell cars from the end of 2024, starting with Hyundi.

• On Monday, 730 of 770 OpenAI employees signed a letter to the board, threatening to join Microsoft unless the board resigned.

• Primark is continuing to expand into the US, with new stores coming to Texas. Primark already has 21 stores in the States.

🛍️ 98% of Black Friday Deals Are Cheaper At Other Times of the Year

Black Friday is all about shopping special deals and discounts, right? Well yes, but that’s not always the case.

Consumer insight group Which? has published their findings, showing that 98% of Black Friday deals are the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.

The company analysed 208 deals from 2022’s Black Friday sales, comparing the price of the goods in the six months before and after the event.

Companies whose sales were analysed included Amazon, AO, Argos, Boots, and John Lewis.

According to Which?, Argos has the highest percentage of products in their sale being the same price or cheaper at other times of the year, at 75%. Amazon came in second, with 69% of products being the same price or cheaper than their Black Friday sales.

In the UK, around 35% of consumers are expected to shop in the Black Friday sales this year, with 47% of them expecting to shop for tech products.

The Outpost’s Opinion: These figures will surprise many, but we can’t forget there are some great deals out there. If you’re thinking of spending your hard-earned cash this Black Friday, consider checking out PriceRunner to see how product prices compare across the sales period.

🤝🏻 Sam Altman Returns To OpenAI

Well, where do we start with this one!

Last Friday, an unimaginable day at OpenAI unfolded. The AI innovator, leading the way as the undisputed front-runner and voice in the world of AI, shocked its investors, staff, and fans by declaring the immediate departure of Sam Altman.

Altman was the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, a figure who had propelled the company's value to an astounding $90 billion.

Altman's influence in the AI space is unparalleled and his impact in the space is unprecedented.

This is how the seismic events played out:

• In the aftermath of a pivotal board meeting, Ilya Sutskever, Board Member and Chief Scientist of OpenAI, orchestrated a Google Meets call with Altman, scheduled for a Friday afternoon.

• In this call, Sutskever advised Altman that the board had lost confidence, citing ‘communication issues‘ from Altman as a key issue.

• Subsequently, Sutskever swiftly engaged in a conversation with Greg Brockman, the Co-founder and President of OpenAI, delivering the news of Altman's dismissal.

• Brockman was told he was being demoted but was assured of his indispensability to the business and its future success, retaining the title of president.

• As the dust settled on Friday afternoon, OpenAI publicly disclosed Altman's departure.

• Brockman announces that he will quit OpenAI in light of the board’s decisions, in solidarity with Sam Altman.

• There’s an outpouring of support for Altman and Brockman from OpenAI investors, staff and AI fans.

• The following day, the OpenAI staff set an unprecedented ultimatum. They declare that they want the board to resign and Altman/Brockman to return to the business.

• The board rejected these calls. Just 24 hours later, swathes of OpenAI staff announced that they had resigned.

But the plot continues to thicken. Still.

On Monday 20th November, Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), announced that both Altman and Brockman are to join forces in a ground-breaking new AI project.

Microsoft had stated that they would match any salaries paid to OpenAI team members looking to leave. Microsoft is one of the main investors in OpenAI, adding what is a bitter twist for the OpenAI board.

On Monday, reports of over 730 OpenAI employees have signed a letter saying they may quit to join Altman and Brockman at Microsoft.

Soon after, Ilya Sutskever, the man who delivered the final blow to the pair shared his ‘regret‘ on X (formally Twitter) for his participation in the board’s actions, stating that he never intended to harm the business.

In a matter of hours, rumours started to circulate of in-depth talks, with Satya Nadella from Microsoft heavily involved in discussions with the OpenAI board.

Yesterday morning, OpenAI announced that the board has been ousted, with a new team coming in to take their posts, pathing the way for the heroic return of both Sam Altman and Greg Brockman - who both accept apologies and return to their positions with immediate effect.

A week they will never forget, but a week which cements their future to OpenAI, possibly the most pioneering business of our generation, for its long-term success.

Here’s a final word from Sam Altman:

The Outpost’s Opinion: Key figures are gone, key relationships damaged, but most importantly, the key man is back in the hot seat. Sam Altman, you’re exactly where you need to be. Dare I say this is the end of a turbulent week?

 👩‍💻 Amazon Offering Free AI Skills Training

Amazon announces its AI Ready initiative, as an AWS study finds that there is a huge demand for AI talent.

Their goal is simple, provide free AI skills to 2 million people globally by 2025.

The initiatives include:

• Eight new and free AI and generative AI courses

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Generative AI Scholarship, providing more than 50,000 high school and university students globally with access to a new generative AI course on Udacity

• New collaboration with Code.org designed to help students learn about generative AI

The potential for trained AI workers can earn up to 47% more in salaries, according to the retail giant. While 73% of employers say hiring an AI-skilled talent is a priority for them.

The Outpost’s Opinion: It’s good to see companies offering AI skills training. Be sure to check it out if you’re interested.