The OpenAI drama isn't the only reality distortions that Altman has been accused of engaging in. PG himself has said Altman "is extremely good at becoming powerful" [0]. A former Reddit CEO in the past detailed the lengths he was willing to go to get his way[1], in reply to a post called, "What is the longest con you ever pulled", no less. One could say allegedly, but Altman did comment on the former CEO's accusation at the time, and one could also say in his defense that he was being sarcastic in his comment, but it is curious that regardless of whether you take Altman's comment seriously or sarcastically[2] -- in both cases it comes off as a brag that doesn't bother denying the accusation.
I don't know who's right in this case, but parents siding with the more successful and stable siblings doesn't seem too surprising. And if I'm not mistaken, Altman and his sister were both minors at the time, so I don't understand the people who are invested in taking sides. But it does make sense to point out that the parents also have a conflict of interest if something like this happened to two minors under the same roof -- who after all ends up taking the blame (fairly or unfairly) if the minors cannot be blamed?
Yes I do as Sam does have the influence and power to do such things. There's a major reason why pieces and articles like this one gets censored a whole lot.
Yes, he has that kind of pull. Look at how both the HN articles got flagged. Tons of people here defending him for some reason. OpenAI is a YC company after all.
There's a misconception that systematic harmful behavior has to be organized.
The truth is that many antisocial people generate a strong cult following and these people protect the abuser. Given Altman's followers are likely to be over-represented in tech companies, it find it plausible this happened without his intentional involvement.
The real issue we as a society agree that tech companies can have a massive effect on public discourse, yet we have not yet developed a legal framework to hold them accountable.
My sister abused me (emotionally mostly, but occasionally hitting me or throwing water on me) for years growing up and lies about it to this day. People lie about this shit even when they have nothing to gain but attention.
This woman may very well be telling the truth, but she very well may be just trying to get a piece of the pie now that he's insanely rich. Don't just jump on board with the cancellation mob. Let the court do its job.
I'm truly sorry you had to endure that growing up. It sounds as though you've confronted her about the abuse, but she wasn't able to offer you closure.
I hope you have or will eventually be able to heal from those experiences.
Speaking strictly from the US perspective, it's very difficult to prove abuse in court, even in civil court where the threshold is lower than criminal court.
The court she has filled this case in requires there to be at least 75k worth of damages to proceed.
I’ve not read the filling myself (might read it later on, but also I might not), but the article says they are looking for a figure in excess of 75k, they can amend their filing later to increase their demand, or (if they win) leave the final figure to the decision of the jury.
(I means the jury will have a say in the figure either way, but stating what you want in the filing telegraphs to the jury what you actually want.)
All this is to say the figure in this filing isn’t the figure she will probably end up asking for.
(However, all civil courts can award you is money. So when all the person wants is to have their case heard. Have their side heard, and it’s not about the money, they will often ask for the minimum.)
if she wanted to use this sum to aggravate her addictions, it would be understandable why they don't want to accommodate her, also in light of the fact that for Sam it would certainly be less of a bother than dealing with this whole thing, if they are going down the most difficult path for them (the family)
it is possible that they are doing it for her own good, otherwise they would have given her even $1m a year, making her sign that all the accusations were false if they had been as perverse as some commentators in this thread suggest
For the record I upvoted your comment but it doesn’t seem to have increased your score. Am I shadowbanned from voting? That would be pretty suspect if so.
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QDczBduZorG4dxZiW/sam-altman...
Related discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38311509
I believe everything Annie says here.
I don't know who's right in this case, but parents siding with the more successful and stable siblings doesn't seem too surprising. And if I'm not mistaken, Altman and his sister were both minors at the time, so I don't understand the people who are invested in taking sides. But it does make sense to point out that the parents also have a conflict of interest if something like this happened to two minors under the same roof -- who after all ends up taking the blame (fairly or unfairly) if the minors cannot be blamed?
[0] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-ma... (he also said something in tweet form after Altman returned to OpenAI as CEO)
[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the...
[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3cs78i/whats_the...
The truth is that many antisocial people generate a strong cult following and these people protect the abuser. Given Altman's followers are likely to be over-represented in tech companies, it find it plausible this happened without his intentional involvement.
The real issue we as a society agree that tech companies can have a massive effect on public discourse, yet we have not yet developed a legal framework to hold them accountable.
How is this relevant?
Sam Altman responds to his sister's claim of sexual abuse
https://twitter.com/sama/status/1876780763653263770
(https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42630067)
This woman may very well be telling the truth, but she very well may be just trying to get a piece of the pie now that he's insanely rich. Don't just jump on board with the cancellation mob. Let the court do its job.
I hope you have or will eventually be able to heal from those experiences.
Speaking strictly from the US perspective, it's very difficult to prove abuse in court, even in civil court where the threshold is lower than criminal court.
I’ve not read the filling myself (might read it later on, but also I might not), but the article says they are looking for a figure in excess of 75k, they can amend their filing later to increase their demand, or (if they win) leave the final figure to the decision of the jury.
(I means the jury will have a say in the figure either way, but stating what you want in the filing telegraphs to the jury what you actually want.)
All this is to say the figure in this filing isn’t the figure she will probably end up asking for.
(However, all civil courts can award you is money. So when all the person wants is to have their case heard. Have their side heard, and it’s not about the money, they will often ask for the minimum.)
I'm sure lawyers won't stop at $75k against a client worth billions.
it is possible that they are doing it for her own good, otherwise they would have given her even $1m a year, making her sign that all the accusations were false if they had been as perverse as some commentators in this thread suggest
Why would normal HN users flag this? It's an interesting story that is very pertinent to the technology world.