Emmett Shear: Silicon Valley’s Big Name

"We can't learn how to build a safe AI without experimenting, and we can't experiment without progress, but we probably shouldn't be barrelling ahead at max speed either," Emmett Shear.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has selected Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, as its acting CEO, taking over from Mira Murati. The company recently ousted previous CEO Sam Altman in a move that shocked the tech community. Shear is well-known for being an active advocate of safety in the advancement of artificial intelligence.

Emmett Shear - Biography

Emmett Shear - Early Life
Emmett Shear - Career
Emmett Shear - Philanthropy
Emmett Shear - Investments
Emmett Shear - Controversy
Emmett Shear - Awards and Recognitions

Emmett Shear - Early Life

Emmett Shear was raised in Seattle and went to the Evergreen School for Gifted Children. Shear, who was born in 1983, earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Yale University in 2005.

Emmett Shear - Career

Shear’s career began in 2005, when he, alongside Justin Kan, co-founded Kiko Software. After a year, he co-founded Justin.TV, Twitch's precursor, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. He was also appointed as a part-time partner at Y Combinator. Shear was Twitch's CEO until March 2023. At present, he is appointed as the interim CEO of OpenAI, replacing Mira Murati, who was earlier designated as interim CEO after Sam Altman’s exit.

Emmett Shear - Kiko Software

In the year 2005, after graduating from Yale, he and Justin Kan co-founded Kiko Software, which was subsequently sold on eBay for $250,000 when Google Calendar became public. He was there for a year and nine months until co-founding Justin.TV, the predecessor of Twitch, in September 2006.

Emmett Shear - Justin.TV

For five years and three months as Chief Technology Officer of Justin.TV, Shear was in charge of coding, hiring, and technical administration.

Simultaneously, he was a part-time partner at Y. Combinator, a renowned San Francisco startup incubator that Altman led from 2014 to 2019.

Emmett Shear - Twitch

Shear served as CEO of Twitch until March 2023, a business he co-founded but was subsequently bought by Amazon in 2014, where he spent over a decade transforming the firm from Justin.TV into the world's most popular video game broadcasting service. He was then appointed as a Visiting Group Partner at Y Combinator, where he assisted each batch of new entrepreneurs.

Emmett Shear - OpenAI

Shear was named interim CEO of OpenAI on November 19, 2023, succeeding Mira Murati as interim CEO following the board's ouster of Sam Altman.

Shear is well-known for being a staunch advocate of the "safety" side of the AI debate. He has compared AI safety to managing the creation of an alien god. Shear has expressed opinions on the dangers of artificial intelligence in interviews and on social media that the OpenAI board members may find compelling.

Shear's hiring attempts to stabilize the firm and resolve employee and larger AI community concerns.

Shear laid forth a three-point strategy for the next 30 days, emphasizing openness and change. This strategy includes appointing an independent investigator to investigate the events leading up to Altman's departure, engaging with employees, partners, investors, and consumers, and reforming the management and leadership teams.

Comprehending the disturbance, he intends to address significant concerns. However, he recognizes that certain issues may take longer than a month to fix. Despite the changes, Shear confirmed that OpenAI's cooperation with Microsoft remained sturdy, emphasizing his dedication to serving customers successfully.

The surprising events at OpenAI raise concerns about the company's future and role in furthering Artificial Intelligence technology. Shear examines the challenge of fixing internal disputes, preserving transparency, and sustaining OpenAI's position as a prominent participant in the AI ecosystem.

More research and development is planned. Additionally, contracts must be signed to ensure that individuals who are experimenting with GPT commit to becoming long-term users.

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Emmett Shear - Philanthropy

Shear contributed the initial US$1 million to launch an SF New Deal, a non-profit organization that purchased meals from San Francisco eateries and delivered them to individuals in need via Twitch in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. His Yale undergraduate friend Leonore Estrada, who managed the Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco's Bayview district, founded the organization.

Emmett Shear - Investments

Shear has invested in several different rounds in various companies.

Emmett Shear - Controversy

He was criticized, among other things, for how he handled allegations in 2020 that the environment at Twitch was unwelcoming to women and for how slowly the platform reacted to offensive material.

His emphasis on guiding Twitch toward profitability through cost-cutting measures was also criticized by several staff members and live streamers as undermining the platform's quality.

"Using gen AI to write pickup lines for the apps, call that shooting my zero-shot," Shear once wrote and posted. Whether this was a joke or not is unknown.

Emmett Shear - Awards and Recognitions

• Forbes Magazine recognised him on their 30 under 30 list in 2012.
• Twitch debuted in 2011, and The Wall Street Journal reported in 2014 that the brand had the fourth-highest peak internet traffic in the United States.

FAQs

Is Emmett Shear the CEO of Twitch?

No, Emmett Shear is not the CEO of Twitch; he resigned in March 2023.

Who is the interim CEO of OpenAI?

Emmett Shear is the interim CEO of OpenAI, taking over Mira Murati and former CEO Sam Altman.

Who owns OpenAI?

OpenAI is owned by investors, including Microsoft, other stakeholders, and the original OpenAI non-profit foundation.