OpenAI's "Meta-fication" causes a cultural conflict

One in five OpenAI employees are now from Meta, bringing Facebook-style growth strategies that are changing the AI startup's culture and product plan, according to a recent piece from The Information. The specifics: Among OAI's 3,000 employees, more than 600 are former Meta employees, including applications CEO Fidji Simo. The group has its own Slack channel. Internal surveys questioned if OAI was becoming "too much like Meta," with former CTO Mira Murati allegedly quitting due to conflicts about user growth. Teams are investigating leveraging ChatGPT's memory for tailored advertisements, even though CEO Sam Altman formerly referred to a similar concept as "dystopian." Internal criticism of the Sora 2 deployment is also detailed in the paper, with staff members doubtful about the social app's direction and capacity for moderation. It's challenging to preserve the identity of a startup that, in a matter of years, goes from a research lab to one of the largest consumer products in the world. However, the arrival of Meta DNA may be a double-edged sword, with OpenAI gaining growth-oriented talent while possibly losing the tenacious, smaller atmosphere that contributed to its early success.