With Sam Altman’s return, a shift in AI from idealism to pragmatism

EVEN BY TECH’SAIAIGPTAIAIAIAIAIAI fast-moving standards, the past week in the world of artificial intelligence () was head-spinning. On November 17th the board of Open booted out Sam Altman, the Chat-maker’s boss. By November 20th Mr Altman had been offered refuge at Microsoft, the startup’s biggest backer. The same day nearly all of Open’s 770 employees signed a letter threatening to quit unless the board members who dismissed Mr Altman reinstate him and resign. On November 21st Mr Altman was back in his old job. Heads have, then, spun back more or less to where they started. Or have they?In fact, the Open saga marks the start of a new, more grown-up phase for the industry. For Open, Mr Altman’s triumphant return may supercharge its ambitions. For Microsoft, which stood by Mr Altman in his hour of need, the episode may result in greater sway over ’s hottest startup. For companies everywhere it may herald a broader shift away from academic idealism and towards greater commercial pragmatism. And for the technology’s users, it may, with luck, usher in more competition and more choice.