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Following his surprise firing on Friday, currently-former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman might not be as out of a job as we initially thought he was, according to new word from The Verge on Saturday. Reportedly, sources close to Altman say that the board itself, in a stunning reversal, have “agreed in principal” to resign while reinstating him to his former position. However, the board has since reportedly missed a 5pm PT deadline regarding the decision.

Shortly after Altman’s firing on Friday afternoon, several senior staffers including former Chairman and President Greg Brockman, Director of Research Jakub Pachocki, Head of Preparedness Aleksander Madry and Senior Researcher Szymon Sidor tendered their resignations in protest. Numerous additional OpenAI staffers were set to quit in solidarity at that meeting. They’re reportedly willing to follow Altman, a la Jerry Maguire, to a new AI startup venture should he decide to launch one. 

An internal memo circulated after Altman’s dismissal argued that his termination was not related to “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices,” per Axios’ reporting.

Microsoft is a major investor in the OpenAI venture — having injected some $10 billion into the project’s coffers this past January as part of a long term partnership between the two. It maintains the “utmost confidence” in OpenAI interim-CEO Mira Murati, and “remains confident” in the partnership overall. 

Despite those assurances, rank-and-file employees were given little notice prior to the official announcement going out (Altman himself receiving even less) of the change in leadership. Altman had, in the days leading up to his termination, remained an active supporter and recruiter for the firm, appearing at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum less than a day prior to his firing. 

According to the New York Times, neither Altman nor Brockman are guaranteed a return to power, largely on account of the company’s non-profit origins, which preclude investors from directing company-wide decisions. They instead leave those choices to members of the board itself. Altman and Brockman were both members of the OpenAI board. However, with their departures, only lead researcher, Ilya Sutskever; Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo; director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology Helen Toner; and computer scientist Tasha McCauley remain members — at least, through the weekend.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-potentially-considering-reinstating-its-freshly-ousted-ceo-sam-altman-051223213.html?src=rss 

If you’ve been holding out for a deal on the Echo Show 8, it doesn’t get any better than Amazon’s current Black Friday bundles for its smart displays. Amazon is selling the second-generation Echo Show 8 with a Kasa Smart multicolor lightbulb for just $55. Normally, these would cost over $150 together. The third-generation Echo Show 8, released this year, is also deeply discounted on Amazon in a bundle with the Kasa Smart Bulb, going for just $105 compared to the list price of $173.

The 2023 Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) brought a refreshed design to what was already one of the best smart displays out there. The latest version has a sleeker build and upgraded capabilities, with spatial audio, a 13MP camera and faster response times from Alexa. Still its predecessor, released in 2021, achieves solid performance for tasks like video calls and smart home control. It’s equipped with automatic face framing to keep you centered on calls, and has a privacy cover for the camera. Both models have a compact 8-inch touchscreen that’s big enough for viewing content without taking up too much counter space.

Amazon’s smart display deals don’t just stop at the Echo Show 8. The retailer is also offering discounts on the Echo Show 5 and the larger Echo Show 10. There are bundles to include additional accessories — including the Blink Mini camera and Kasa Smart bulbs — and deals on individual devices for 30 to 64 percent off.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/echo-show-8-bundles-are-up-to-64-percent-off-in-amazons-black-friday-deals-220607231.html?src=rss 

An internal memo sent to OpenAI staff on Saturday after former CEO Sam Altman’s abrupt firing reiterates that “a breakdown in communication” led to the decision, not “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices,” according to Axios and The New York Times. The memo obtained by both publications was sent to employees by OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap.

Speculation has been nonstop since Altman was ousted unexpectedly as CEO on Friday and dropped from the company’s board of directors, with little concrete information from OpenAI itself to go on. In its announcement of the decision, the board said only that he was not “consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” The board named Mira Murati, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, as interim CEO.

In response, OpenAI’s now-former president, Greg Brockman, announced he was stepping down too, tweeting, “Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.” Three senior researchers later resigned as well, according to The Information. Now, in another report, sources told The Information that Altman already has a “new venture” in the works, and he plans to bring Brockman and possibly others on with him. It’s as yet unclear if this venture is separate from Altman’s other known upcoming projects, including a purported collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive.

Numerous reports in the aftermath have attempted to provide an explanation for Altman’s firing, with some claiming there were concerns over the rapid development of the company’s AI products and, according to journalist Kara Swisher, its “profit driven direction.” In Saturday’s memo, per Axios, Lightcap wrote that the announcement “took us all by surprise,” and “we have had multiple conversations with the board to try to better understand the reasons and process behind their decision.”

The sudden shakeup could now have ramifications for the impending sale of OpenAI’s employee shares, valued at roughly $86 billion, The Information reported. In a cryptic tweet on Saturday, Altman quipped, “if i start going off, the openai board should go after me for the full value of my shares (sic).”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/internal-memo-says-sam-altmans-firing-wasnt-due-to-malfeasance-or-openai-safety-practices-205156164.html?src=rss 

The Xbox Series S starter pack is down to a record low price in a Black Friday deal from Microsoft. The starter bundle for the 512GB Series S — which also includes a wireless controller and three months of Game Pass Ultimate — is just $240, compared to its normal price of $300. You can also pick up extra controllers at an exceptionally low price from Amazon right now, with a choice from a slew of different colors. The Xbox Core Wireless Controller is 31 percent off, bringing it down to $45 from its usual price of $65 for a $20 savings.

The Xbox Series S is the more budget-friendly, compact version of the console. It can run games at 120 frames per second and at resolutions above 1080p, and supports ray tracing for some titles. While it’s not as powerful as the more expensive Series X, it’s still one of the best gaming consoles around today for its price range. We gave it a review score of 85 when it came out (and dubbed it “the cutest console of the next generation”). 

The current deal comes with three months of Game Pass Ultimate, which means buyers will get instant access to hundreds of popular games. There’s also a high-speed HDMI cable in the box alongside a wireless controller.

If the limitations of the Series S are too much, though, there are also Black Friday deals on Series X bundles. You can pick up the Series X with Diablo IV for just $440 at Walmart — a savings of over 20 percent, or $120 off. Or, if racing games are more your speed, Microsoft is selling the Xbox Series X bundled with Forza Horizon 5 for $450, shaving $50 off the usual price.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-black-friday-deals-include-all-time-low-console-bundle-and-20-off-controllers-183704686.html?src=rss 

Nothing has pulled the beta for its new messaging app, Nothing Chats, from the Play Store just a day after its release, and says it’s delaying the launch “until further notice.” The company touted the Sunbird-based Nothing Chats as the answer to the longstanding “Android versus Apple” texting woes, with support for both RCS and iMessage to bridge the gap. But since its announcement, a growing number of critics have voiced concerns over the risks that workarounds like this bring, arguing that Nothing Chats is an inherently less secure messaging option.

In a teardown of the app, 9to5google pointed out that Nothing Chats does not have end-to-end encryption, and found that attachments sent by other users could easily be accessed in plain text. The findings added support to concerns voiced by others that Sunbird uses HTTP instead of HTTPS. Kishan Bagaria, founder of Texts.com, called it out as “extremely insecure” and said further investigation from his team showed “all outgoing texts are being leaked to a sentry server in plaintext.”

On X, Nothing didn’t directly address the privacy issues but said it’s working with Sunbird to “fix several bugs” and “will do right by our users.” Nothing Chats was announced on November 14, and the beta hit the Play Store on Friday. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-pulls-its-imessage-compatible-chats-app-amid-widespread-privacy-concerns-165157058.html?src=rss