Ex-CEO of Twitch, Emmett Shear, was designated as OpenAI’s acting CEO.
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Emmett Shearer was unveiled as the temporary CEO of OpenAI on Sunday. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether the board will be informed of his numerous public remarks on sexual relationships between males and females. This is unusual for a business executive of his rank. His earlier statements, as the former CEO of Twitch, reveal his involvement in conversations regarding statistics about fantasy assaults, sex and authority, and strategies from a controversial guide to enhancing social skills that popularized techniques such as “negging” and the “cube maneuver.”
In a post, he wrote, “Catching the attention of an appealing woman, even if it doesn’t lead to a date, generally has a positive impact for a man,” he stated in response to a tweet that has now been deleted.
“So there is an uneven reward for the date itself. Most women are only interested if it will eventually lead to a relationship. Men are more willing to match, more willing to go on a first date, more willing to engage in casual intimacy because of the payoff matrix,” Shear articulated.
As per his tweet, Shear had perused Game: Enter the Secret Society of Pickup Artists– a publication on tactics for captivating interest by Neil Strauss. He tweeted last August, “If you read The Game it becomes apparent that it’s not exclusively about intimacy at all,” he conveyed.
A few months back, in May, he noted, “ladies can obtain a casual connection with no commitments, men can secure a long-term commitment.” Also, in August, Shear communicated: “Utilizing Gen AI to craft opening lines for applications…that’s what I refer to as shooting my zero-shot.” (It is uncertain whether this was meant humorously or not.)
Shear had not replied to a request for a statement by the time of publication.
During her prior role as the CEO of Twitch, Shear confronted backlash for her management of accusations of sexual misconduct against content creators on the streaming platform. A Twitch content creator claimed that when Shearer was questioned about offending creators at a meeting, he dismissed the question and refused to comment. Shear responded by publicly releasing a Missive he had written to staff regarding the allegations, praised the bravery of the accusers and pledged to offer more support to women and minority communities on the platform. He wrote, “If at any point you heard my comments and felt they were dismissive or that Twitch doesn’t care, I’m sorry that happened and I want you to know that in no way was my intention. Was,” in the missive.
On Sunday, Shearer Tweeted about his new role as interim CEO of OpenAI, describing it as “an irreplaceable opportunity,” which he accepted due to his conviction that the company is “one of the most crucial” in existence. His decision to step down from Twitch in March was attributed to the birth of his son.
Shear’s new role as the CEO of one of the most dynamic AI companies follows a turbulent weekend subsequent to the dismissal of Altman by the OpenAI board on Friday. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, announced on Sunday evening that Altman, along with OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman, who resigned in protest, would be joining the company to head a new research division. By Monday morning, most of OpenAI’s employees had warned of resigning if Altman was not reinstated.
According to reports, Shearer has been unable to acquire written justification from the board for Altman’s termination, As per The Verge, who highlighted that OpenAI employees responded to the announcement of Shearer’s appointment with emojis insinuating “disapproval.” OpenAI is owned by investor Vinod Khosla, who publicly asked Shear to resign on a public platform.
Shearer seems to be associated with the influential philanthropic community, which some have accused of influencing Altman’s ousting and Brockman’s departure. (The specific reason for Altman’s dismissal has yet to be disclosed.) Effective Altruism, or EA, is a philosophy that has gained considerable influence in Silicon Valley, promoting strategic allocation of funds for solving the world’s major issues. It is recognized for the purported prevalence of consensual non-monogamous relationships—most notably, the high-profile relationship of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is acknowledged as an influential philanthropist. Several EA members have faced allegations of intimate misconduct and harassment by women within the community.
In September, Shearer spoke at “Manifest 2023,” an event organized in Berkeley, California by Manifold, an EA-aligned platform for prediction markets, where he discussed the prospective development of trust and verification in the era of AI.
Board members of OpenAI, including Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, and Adam D’Angelo, each have connections to EA, although it is uncertain whether any of them presently identify as members.
When someone asked him how he became the interim CEO of OpenAI, Shear responded: “Swiftly and unexpectedly.”
