OpenAI November 2023 Board Crisis — Documented Failed Pharmakos Cycle

Engine Reading per May 2 2026 Girard / technocrat-impact audit: documented primary-source case study of FAILED Girardian scapegoat mechanism. 5-day Altman firing-and-rehiring sequence Nov 17-22 2023.

Sequence: (1) OpenAI board faced internal mimetic crisis over commercialization-vs-safety AGI direction; (2) board (acting as collective consciousness) unconsciously triggered pharmakos mechanism, selecting Altman as sacrificial victim whose expulsion would theoretically restore unity; (3) broader mimetic network — employees (~95% threatened resignation), Microsoft ($10 billion investment partner), investors — REFUSED to legitimize the scapegoating; (4) mechanism FAILED — without network-wide legitimization, scapegoat-cycle cannot complete; (5) victim REINSTATED + accusers EXPELLED (Toner, McCauley resigned, Sutskever stepped back).