文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：What Sam Altman’s surprise sacking means for the AI race
原文发布时间：18 Nov. 2023
What Sam Altman's surprise sacking means for the AI race
How quickly the mighty fall. Ever since the release of ChatGPT a year ago, Sam Altman has been the human face of the generative artificial-intelligence revolution. As recently as November 16th the co-founder and boss of OpenAI was touting the virtues of AI to executives and world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in San Francisco. The very next day he was out on his ear. A blog post on OpenAI's website said the board "no longer has confidence" in Mr Altman's leadership because "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board". Another shock came hours later. Greg Brockman, chairman of the firm's board and another co-founder, resigned in response to Mr Altman's sacking.
The defenestration was all the more surprising because Mr Altman seemed at the peak of his powers. He had recently completed a world tour where everyone from Narendra Modi to Emmanuel Macron jockeyed to meet him. On November 6th he had launched a suite of new AI tools at OpenAI's developer day, drawing comparisons with Steve Jobs—a parallel that now seems ironic, considering that in 1985 Jobs too was booted out of the company he had founded. One startup boss says Mr Altman's and Mr Brockman's departures are as serious as if Larry Page and Sergey Brin had been kicked out of Google during its early years.
OpenAI's employees and investors were blindsided by the move. Mr Brockman later tweeted that he and Mr Altman had not been aware of what was happening until minutes before the ousting. According to Axios, a news website, Microsoft, which has a 49% stake in the firm, was also in the dark until the last minute.
萨姆·阿尔特曼的意外解雇对人工智能的竞争意味着什么
精听党背景导读
当地时间11月17日晚些时候，ChatGPT母公司OpenAI的董事会解雇了首席执行官萨姆·阿尔特曼（Sam Altman）。路透社认为，对许多人来说，阿尔特曼是生成式人工智能的代言人，因此这一消息在整个科技行业引发了巨大冲击波。
OpenAI表示，首席技术官米拉·穆拉蒂（Mira Murati）将担任临时首席执行官，并补充说，该公司将正式寻找一位新的长期首席执行官。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：What Sam Altman’s surprise sacking means for the AI race原文发布时间：18 Nov. 2023关键词：OpenAI 解雇 萨姆·阿尔特曼
精听党带着问题听
1.“解雇”在文中有哪几种表达方式？2. 萨姆·阿尔特曼被解雇的原因是什么？3. 如何理解第二段的“be out on one's ear”？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
What Sam Altman’s surprise sacking means for the AI race
萨姆·阿尔特曼的意外解雇对人工智能的竞争意味着什么
surprise sacking 意外解雇；1. surprise adj. 令人惊奇的，意外的；2. The surprise sacking of the CEO caused a stir in the company. CEO的意外解雇在公司内引起了骚动。
race n. 赛跑，速度竞赛；竞争，角逐；
段一
How quickly the mighty fall. Ever since the release of ChatGPT a year ago, Sam Altman has been the human face of the generative artificial-intelligence revolution. As recently as November 16th the co-founder and boss of OpenAI was touting the virtues of AI to executives and world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in San Francisco. The very next day he was out on his ear. A blog post on OpenAI’s website said the board “no longer has confidence” in Mr Altman’s leadership because “he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board”. Another shock came hours later. Greg Brockman, chairman of the firm’s board and another co-founder, resigned in response to Mr Altman’s sacking.
mighty fall 强者的陨落；1. mighty adj. 强大的，巨大的；强者的；2. The mighty fall of the empire marked the end of an era. 帝国的强者陨落标志着一个时代的结束。
generative artificial-intelligence revolution 生成人工智能革命；1. The generative artificial-intelligence revolution has changed many industries. 生成人工智能革命改变了许多行业。
tout vt. 吹嘘；1. The product is touted as the best in the market. 该产品被吹嘘为市场上最好的产品。
virtue n. 高尚的道德，德行；美德，优秀品质；优点，长处；1. He spoke about the virtues of AI in healthcare. 他谈到了AI在医疗保健中的优点。
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit 亚太经合组织峰会；
be out on one's ear （非正式）不光彩地被打发走（或被解雇）；
consistently adv. 一贯地，始终；一致地；
candid adj. 坦率的，直言不讳的；1. He was candid about his feelings. 他对自己的感情很坦诚。
communication n. 表达，交流，交际；信息，书信，电话；通讯，交通联系；
参考译文
强者倒下得多快啊。自从一年前ChatGPT发布以来，萨姆·阿尔特曼一直是生成式人工智能革命的代言人。就在最近的11月16日，在旧金山举行的亚太经合组织峰会上，这位OpenAI的联合创始人兼老板还在向高管和世界领导人兜售人工智能的优点。第二天他就被开除了。OpenAI网站上的一篇博客文章称，董事会对阿尔特曼的领导能力“不再有信心”，因为“他在与董事会的沟通中并非一贯坦诚”。几小时后又发生了另一件令人震惊的事。该公司董事会主席、另一位联合创始人格雷格·布罗克曼在阿尔特曼被解雇后辞职。
段二
The defenestration was all the more surprising because Mr Altman seemed at the peak of his powers. He had recently completed a world tour where everyone from Narendra Modi to Emmanuel Macron jockeyed to meet him. On November 6th he had launched a suite of new AI tools at OpenAI’s developer day, drawing comparisons with Steve Jobs—a parallel that now seems ironic, considering that in 1985 Jobs too was booted out of the company he had founded. One startup boss says Mr Altman’s and Mr Brockman’s departures are as serious as if Larry Page and Sergey Brin had been kicked out of Google during its early years.
defenestration n.（将人或物）抛出窗外（尤指中古时代末期波希米亚民众表示愤恨的方法之一）；1. The defenestration of the tyrant was a symbolic act. 把暴君扔出窗外是一种象征性的行为。
world tour 世界旅行；
jockey vi. 争夺；耍各种手腕获取；运用手段谋取；1. The candidates jockeyed for the top position. 候选人争夺最高职位。
a suite of 一套，一组；1. The company offers a suite of software solutions for businesses. 该公司为企业提供一套软件解决方案。
parallel n.（人或事物的）相似的手法，共同点；相似的人（或物）；
ironic adj. 反语的，讽刺的；（因出乎意料而）奇怪的，好笑的；
be booted out of 被赶出；
departure n. 背离；离开，启程；
kick out of 驱逐出去；强使离开；赶走；
参考译文
由于阿尔特曼似乎正处于权力的巅峰，他被解雇更令人惊讶。他最近刚刚完成了一次世界之旅，从纳伦德拉·莫迪（Narendra Modi）到埃马纽埃尔·马克龙（Emmanuel Macron），每个人都争先恐后地想见他。11月6日，他在OpenAI的开发者日上发布了一套新的人工智能工具，并将其与史蒂夫·乔布斯进行了比较——考虑到1985年乔布斯也被赶出了他创建的公司，这种对比现在看来颇具讽刺意味。一家创业公司的老板说，阿尔特曼和布罗克曼的离职就像拉里·佩奇和谢尔盖·布林在Google早期被踢出公司一样严重。
段三
OpenAI’s employees and investors were blindsided by the move. Mr Brockman later tweeted that he and Mr Altman had not been aware of what was happening until minutes before the ousting. According to Axios, a news website, Microsoft, which has a 49% stake in the firm, was also in the dark until the last minute.
blindside vt. 出其不意地袭击；（使）遭受意外的打击；1. The team was blindsided by the sudden change in strategy. 团队被战略的突然改变所突然袭击。
ousting n. 驱逐；1. The ousting of the dictator was celebrated by the people. 人民庆祝了独裁者的驱逐。
stake n. 股本，股份；
in the dark 在黑暗中；不知情；1. The employees were kept in the dark about the company’s plans. 员工对公司的计划一无所知。
参考译文
OpenAI的员工和投资者对此举感到措手不及。布罗克曼后来在推特上表示，他和阿尔特曼直到被驱逐前几分钟才意识到发生了什么事。据新闻网站Axios报道，持有该公司49%股份的微软直到最后一刻都不知情。
精听党每日单词
surprise sacking
意外解雇；
race
/reɪs/ n. 赛跑，速度竞赛；竞争，角逐；
mighty fall
强者的陨落；
generative artificial-intelligence revolution
生成人工智能革命；
tout
/taʊt/ vt. 吹嘘；
virtue
/ˈvɜːrtʃuː/ n. 高尚的道德，德行；美德，优秀品质；优点，长处；
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit
亚太经合组织峰会；
be out on one's ear
（非正式）不光彩地被打发走（或被解雇）；
consistently
/kənˈsɪstəntli/ adv. 一贯地，始终；一致地；
candid
/ˈkændɪd/ adj. 坦率的，直言不讳的；
communication
/kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 表达，交流，交际；信息，书信，电话；通讯，交通联系；
defenestration
/diˌfenəˈstreɪʃən/ n.（将人或物）抛出窗外（尤指中古时代末期波希米亚民众表示愤恨的方法之一）；
world tour
世界旅行；
jockey
/ˈdʒɑːki/ vi. 争夺；耍各种手腕获取；运用手段谋取；
a suite of
一套，一组；
parallel
/ˈpærəlel/ n.（人或事物的）相似的手法，共同点；相似的人（或物）；
ironic
/aɪˈrɑːnɪk/ adj. 反语的，讽刺的；（因出乎意料而）奇怪的，好笑的；
be booted out of
被赶出；
departure
/dɪˈpɑːrtʃər/ n. 背离；离开，启程；
kick out of
驱逐出去；强使离开；赶走；
blindside
/ˈblaɪndsaɪd/ vt. 出其不意地袭击；（使）遭受意外的打击；
ousting
/ˈaʊstɪŋ/ n. 驱逐；
stake
/steɪk/ n. 股本，股份；
in the dark
在黑暗中；不知情；
精听党文化拓展
Sam Altman不仅是OpenAI的代言人，还是AI领域中最有影响力的声音之一，他的离职使OpenAI的未来充满不确定性，尤其是在此时，其他竞争对手正紧锣密鼓地追赶ChatGPT取得的空前成功。
最新信息是，OpenAI的投资者正努力召回被罢免的Sam Altman。OpenAI董事会也正与Sam Altman讨论重新担任公司首席执行官的事宜，因为“无能的董事会意识到自己无能”。据外媒报道，Sam Altman正在考虑重返岗位，但他已告诉投资者，他希望彻底重新配置董事会。
分析认为，Sam Altman若不回归OpenAI董事会，而是进行二次创业，可能导致OpenAI估值大幅缩水，类似Anthropic这样的亚马逊、谷歌扶持的公司估值则会提升，也会大幅扩宽其提供基建LLM公司的市值空间。
一位AI行业CEO点评说，一旦Sam Altman无法返回OpenAI，会产生一连串的反应。首先，OpenAI新的管理层必须开始筹资，因为每次有人向ChatGPT提出一个问题，公司就要花费0.3美元，有些时候，有的人甚至会重复问一个问题五次。
更重要的是，OpenAI最近那笔高达800到900亿美元的交易已成为过去，就像埃及的法老一样，虽然听起来很辉煌，但已经成为了历史尘埃，不会再回来了。“OpenAI新的管理层还意外的冒犯了最大的合作伙伴微软，虽然微软在公开场合会说一些恭维的话，但他们对此感到极度愤怒。”
精听党每日美句
"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it." – Charles R. Swindoll
“生活中，发生在我们身上的事情只占10%，我们如何反应占90%。” ——查尔斯·R·斯温多尔