Few ways to force OpenAI governance changes

Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, attends an open dialogue with students at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

(Reuters) -Few people can force OpenAI to change governance at the crisis-stricken artificial-intelligence company, and the head of Microsoft, a major financial backer, is not one of them, according to legal experts.

The nonprofit board overseeing the maker of the popular ChatGPT chatbot sent shock waves through Silicon Valley on Friday by abruptly firing Chief Executive Sam Altman. Nearly all of the company's 700 employees signed a letter threatening to resign if the board does not step down, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has called for governance changes.