OpenAI CEO owns 0% of company, Bitcoin Cash Hardfork, Ledger Controversy
ChatGPT Impact on Future Jobs, Ledger angers users, BCH Hardfork
1.) OpenAI's Evolution: Sam Altman's Transition to 0% Ownership
OpenAI, the company responsible for the popular conversational AI model ChatGPT was valued at ~$27B-$29B with their last funding round of $300M.
In 2015, OpenAI was founded as a non-profit organization with substantial financial support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who pledged $1 billion towards the initiative. However, reports suggest that Musk grew dissatisfied with OpenAI's progress, believing it to be significantly lagging behind Google in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
"I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong...we want to be vocal about that," Sam Altman . "We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening."
Altman, who had already amassed considerable wealth from his involvement in various tech startups, decided not to pursue equity during the company's transformation, which may have given potential investors some hesitation in 2019. However, the successful launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI's language model, generated significant attention and likely mitigated concerns about Altman's lack of initial equity.
OpenAI's fortunes took a positive turn when Microsoft invested $1 billion in the company in July 2019, integrating OpenAI's technologies into its own products. As a result, OpenAI's valuation has skyrocketed to $29 billion, more than doubling its previous value in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal.
It is clear that OpenAI has undergone a remarkable evolution, transitioning from a non-profit entity to a highly valued tech firm. While challenges and disagreements have marked its journey, the company's recent growth and partnerships indicate a promising future in the field of AI.
Singular’s Take: AI technology is moving so fast that legislators also wondered whether such an agency would be capable of keeping up. New agencies in the US could regulate the development and release of AI models above a threshold of capabilities.
Singular’s Action: This article was crafted by ChatGPT, and in a completely unrelated note, we assure you that our former editor has decided to pursue new opportunities, purely coincidentally. Just kidding, there's no need to worry!
2.) Bitcoin Cash in Anticipation of Promising May Hard Fork
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) previous hard fork was on November 15, 2020. The conflict leading to the fork started when the Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin Cash Node development teams disagreed over the implementation of a difficulty adjustment algorithm called Grasberg. The ABC team intended to implement it without consensus from the BCHN team, causing tension between the groups. A subsequent meeting failed to resolve the conflict, leading to the decision by Bitcoin ABC to implement the Aserti3-2d algorithm instead. However, the divide had already formed, and BCHN emerged as the dominant chain, receiving significant support from miners.
The proposed restructuring of the coinbase rewards, known as the Infrastructure Funding Proposal (IFP), further exacerbated the situation. This change aimed to direct 8% of the block rewards to an address owned by Bitcoin ABC for future development. However, it was met with resistance from network miners, contributing to the likelihood of a hard fork. Bitcoin Cash is familiar with such forks since it is a prominent Bitcoin fork and regularly undergoes upgrades every May 15 and November 15.
Various service providers and exchanges have expressed their positions regarding the fork. Most intend to support BCHN as the dominant chain, while some may consider supporting ABC depending on consensus and user demand. These providers include Binance, Bitgo, Bitmex, Bitfinex, Coinbase, FTX, Houbi, Kraken, Ledger, and Trezor, each with their own specific plans and procedures related to the fork.
Overall, the conflict between the Bitcoin ABC and BCHN teams, driven by disagreements over proposed changes and a lack of consensus, has led to an upcoming hard fork for Bitcoin Cash.
Singular’s Take: Bitcoin and Ether Show Little Movement amidst Discussions on Bitcoin's Role and Halving Worries; Cobo Data Suggests Market Confidence Rebounding and Bybit Links Memecoin Surge to Reinvestment, Expressing Concerns Over Mining Effects if Bitcoin Fails to Stabilize Above $30,000 after the Halving.
Singular’s Action: The decrease in Bitcoin's network congestion has influenced the rallies of alternative cryptocurrencies, while the demand for BRC-20 tokens has led to increased transaction fees and higher miner earnings without a substantial influx of new users. This trend has the potential to alter the dynamics between Bitcoin and Ether, as well as overall market conditions.
3.) Ledger Incites Anger Among Users as Controversy Mounts
The recent launch of Ledger Recover, a key recovery service by Ledger, has sparked controversy and left many users angry and concerned. The service aims to assist users in recovering their funds if they lose their seed phrase or hardware wallet. It works by encrypting a version of the seed phrase and storing it securely with Ledger and two of its partners. Users can retrieve their seed phrase by confirming their identity, even if they no longer have access to their original Ledger device.
While the concept of having a user-friendly way to protect funds while keeping them off centralized exchanges is appealing, the timing of Ledger's release has raised eyebrows. It comes in the wake of the FTX implosion, where users lost access to their funds due to issues with the exchange. This has led to suspicions and concerns among users, contributing to the backlash against Ledger.
Ledger has faced a tumultuous 24 hours, with the backlash intensifying. Many are questioning the company's actions and intentions behind the launch of Ledger Recover. To gain more insights into the situation, Bankless has already interviewed Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet to hear their perspective on the scandal. Readers can check out the interview to get a better understanding of the issue.
Ledger's defenders acknowledge that trust in the manufacturer is inherent when using any hardware wallet, as software plays a crucial role. They argue that expecting absolute security without any updates is unrealistic. However, the company's attempt to justify its actions after releasing a feature that contradicts its previously marketed capabilities is seen as less forgivable. While Ledger remains a relatively secure option for key storage compared to alternatives, the launch of this feature has damaged user trust and will influence the community's perception of future product claims.
Quote of the Week:
“Offer me money. Offer me power. I don't care” Elon Musk