But, first of all, a lot of people (not just people in OpenAI) love Sam on the personal level, that’s very clear, and they love both what he is doing (with OpenAI, with Helion, with Retro Biosciences), and how he is presenting himself, what he is saying, his demeanor, and so on.
Next key factor was that any outcome besides Sam’s return would have damaged the company and the situation a lot at the worst possible moment, when the company had a clear lead, was riding a huge wave of success, had absolutely best models, and so on. They all understood how crucial was the role Sam played in all that, and how crucial would his role be in the future too. So there were making the strongest possible play to prevent any outcome besides Sam’s return. They expected to win, they were playing to maximize the chances of winning, and they did not expect to lose and then to have to decide if they really want to join MSFT (both having to join MSFT and having to stay in the semi-destroyed OpenAI would be bad compared to what they had).
But out of the factors listed, 1+2+3+(4 for many of them, not for all)+5+(6 for some of them)+(7, not so much being afraid of “imploding”, but more afraid of becoming a usual miserable corporate place, where one drags oneself to work instead of enjoying one’s work)
It’s a mixture of reasons...
But, first of all, a lot of people (not just people in OpenAI) love Sam on the personal level, that’s very clear, and they love both what he is doing (with OpenAI, with Helion, with Retro Biosciences), and how he is presenting himself, what he is saying, his demeanor, and so on.
Next key factor was that any outcome besides Sam’s return would have damaged the company and the situation a lot at the worst possible moment, when the company had a clear lead, was riding a huge wave of success, had absolutely best models, and so on. They all understood how crucial was the role Sam played in all that, and how crucial would his role be in the future too. So there were making the strongest possible play to prevent any outcome besides Sam’s return. They expected to win, they were playing to maximize the chances of winning, and they did not expect to lose and then to have to decide if they really want to join MSFT (both having to join MSFT and having to stay in the semi-destroyed OpenAI would be bad compared to what they had).
But out of the factors listed, 1+2+3+(4 for many of them, not for all)+5+(6 for some of them)+(7, not so much being afraid of “imploding”, but more afraid of becoming a usual miserable corporate place, where one drags oneself to work instead of enjoying one’s work)