“Allegations that I discriminated against anyone are simply false,” Biermeister told the Journal in a statement.
According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Journal, the firing, which apparently took place in early January, followed Bayermeister’s opposition to Sam Altman’s ChatGPAT adult mode (or erotica mode?) announced last October. According to the Journal, Bayermeister was also the creator of an internal “peer-mentorship” group for women at OpenAI.
A possible adult mode has been in the works for a long time. A model specification in 2024 indicated the possibility of NSFW content. However, OpenAI told Mashable around the release of that document, “We have no intention of creating AI-generated pornography.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backtracked a bit from last year’s announcement of its adult mode, emphasizing mature conversations rather than sexuality, but the ability for users to have some form of cybersex with OpenAI’s signature chatbot is still on the way. Altman just wants to provide, he says, “a lot of freedom for people to use AI as they want,” and he adds that he and his company are “not the elected moral police of the world.”
Sources who spoke to the Journal also mentioned an “advisory council” on “well-being and AI” inside OpenAI, and this entity apparently asked to reconsider the release of the adult mode.
But OpenAI’s statement to the Journal on Baremeister’s firing strongly indicates that it has nothing to do with adult mode. It added that he “made valuable contributions during his tenure at OpenAI, and his departure was not related to any issues he raised while working at the company.”
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