I've gotten used to reading, "OpenAI has a moat," around Artificial Intelligence. They've been so far ahead, so consistently, that the fear has been that other AI companies would ignore safety in an attempt to catch up.

Now the ouster of Sam Altman as OpenAI CEO seems to indicate that its board intends to pump the brakes and attempt to reach AGI responsibly rather than recklessly.

But when the daredevil driver of the lead car is replaced with a school bus driver who stops for all of the cross-walks will the other cars in the race abandon all caution, knowing that they are no longer only competing for second place?