Gongol.com Archives: February 2025
February 14, 2025
Like people, companies sometimes have suitors. And sometimes those suitors get rejected, just as OpenAI (makers of ChatGPT) have spurned a takeover offer from X (formerly known as Twitter). ■ The offering price tells us one thing: At least two parties think the company is worth more than $97.4 billion -- the offeror and the offeree. It would be irrational to offer a price higher than the perceived value of the firm, and it would likewise be crazy to reject an offer for much more than intrinsic value. ■ But the whole story tells us something else. We are not well-equipped to handle large institutions run by any rules other than large, for-profit shareholding. OpenAI has an unusual structure that tries to blend a non-profit mission with a semi-profit business. The origins of the structure come from the perception that artificial intelligence is a special kind of public good, and that it requires a special kind of managerial orientation. ■ Within a capitalist or market-driven economy, the for-profit model will always predominate. The profit motive is almost undefeated when it comes to encouraging innovation, progress, and efficiency. But that's not always what's optimal for society. ■ Especially where there are distinct matters of public interest involved, we need to be experienced and familiar with a toolkit that doesn't just include C-corporations, but also regulated utilities, mutual associations, co-ops, and the like. And then we need to be sure those other structures attract people just as skilled, thoughtful, and forward-thinking as any conventional for-profit.
