Larry Summers takes a prominent role in the AI spotlight by securing a seat on the OpenAI board.

Larry Summers


In a late Tuesday night announcement, OpenAI revealed the reinstatement of Sam Altman, who had been ousted as CEO. The revamped board, featuring an unexpected addition from outside the typical Silicon Valley circles, includes Larry Summers.

Teaming up with Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce Inc., and current board member Adam D'Angelo, the economist and former Treasury Secretary played a pivotal role in establishing what OpenAI referred to as the "initial board." Altman, who was abruptly dismissed by the previous directors on Friday, initiated a dramatic saga that raised uncertainties about the future of this highly scrutinized startup in the technology sector.

In an online post, OpenAI mentioned that it is currently in the process of "figuring out the details" of its new management. However, the inclusion of Summers on the board brings in a member with extensive connections to Wall Street and Washington, coupled with a firm conviction that artificial intelligence is poised to impact white-collar jobs.

Tweer of Open AI reposted by Larry Summer



Summers currently holds positions on a few technology boards, including Block Inc., Jack Dorsey's payments firm, and the software company Skillsoft Corp. While he was appointed as an adviser to the influential venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz in 2011, there has been no public indication of his recent involvement in its investments. With a background that includes leading the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration, serving as an economic adviser in the Obama administration, and a stint as the president of Harvard University, Summers currently serves as a paid contributor to Bloomberg Television.

His limited remarks on AI have primarily focused on its potential effects on the workforce.

In 2018, Summers contested the assertions of then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who claimed that AI wouldn't replace American jobs for 50 to 100 years. Expressing a contrary view in The Washington Post, Summers declared, "The robots are coming." During the same year, he cautioned about the potential economic calamity if the United States were to "lose its lead" in biotech and AI to China.

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In December 2022, just a month after the introduction of ChatGPT, the OpenAI chatbot that sparked the recent surge in AI interest, Summers likened the service to transformative historical innovations such as the printing press and electricity, as well as even more ancient human advancements. On Bloomberg TV, he remarked, "This could be the most important general-purpose technology since the wheel or fire."

In April, Summers asserted that ChatGPT was poised to impact the cognitive class, foreseeing its potential to make higher-skilled roles obsolete initially. Speaking on Bloomberg TV, he stated, "ChatGPT is going to replace tasks performed by doctors, such as hearing symptoms and making diagnoses, before it transforms the responsibilities of nurses. It will influence the activities of traders in financial markets before altering the roles of salespeople."

At OpenAI, Summers is expected to take on the responsibility of assembling a more comprehensive board and addressing the company's governance issues. According to an anonymous source familiar with the situation, the prospective board members might include Altman and Microsoft Corp., the company's largest supporter, although details of private negotiations are being kept confidential.

In 2005, during his tenure as the president of Harvard University, Summers sparked controversy with comments suggesting that innate differences in sex could be a factor hindering women's success in math and science careers. Subsequently, he issued an apology for those remarks.