alt Hacker NewsOpinions on the affair and the public discourse aside, I have to say though that it is the first time in a long time that I see an apology letter written from a business person in the name of the company that actually admits wrongdoing and has accountability.
Usually they are more along the lines of fake apologies like "I'm sorry that you feel that way", or in this particular case I would imagine something like "I'm sorry that I was spied on, I was doing my best and nothing prepared me to deal with a foreign agent".
It's refreshing to see words like "My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility. I am fully committed to NVIDIA and will work to earn back your confidence.".
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I feel like with all the stuff coming out and congress and Nvidia both looking into it, it was only a matter of time before the facts became public and he's getting ahead of it this way.
Words are still empty without actions. He chose not to take any.
It's the least important part of it. Huang's conduct, and even the romantic affar, are not important.
The corruption in terms of PRC GPU import policy and Huang's relationship with the US administration are important.
This is not a prurient sexual scandal, it's a major corruption and infiltration scandal in one of the most important companies in the world. Huang personal travelled with the US President and advised him on regional strategy, and gave him tens of millions of millions of dollars in gifts.
Huang can handle it correctly and be as contrite as he wants but it won't take away the geopolitical impact created by the operation.
I felt the same way. I can see his remorse and genuine care for his family which makes me feel a bit sad.
I struggle to understand how you can come to this conclusion from reading the same letter I did.
Huang doesn't even admit wrongdoing for the actual important part of the scandal, selling restricted hardware to an adversary!
Besides, taking responsibility is something you DO, not something you say. Stepping down would be taking responsibility, for instance.
Seriously. The letter reads like 100% insincere PR hot air. Don't fall for it.
Good if he wrote this himself. But it sounds like the legal department been involved in writing this. If it is AI then it is really impressive.
I'm being a bit weirded out to see, for this story (not just this thread), how the top comments are positive takes on Jensen.
He's a victim, he apologizes well, he's working with the board on this...
Is HN just this millionare-friendly? astroturfed?
Not that I expect a metaphorical lynching, but it's certainly a take when the news is "one of the most important roles in the US is potentially losing national secrets by absurd oversight".
Usually someone in the executive staff making mistakes ends up being required company training.
The phrases “I’m sorry” and “I take responsibility” are like Flex Tape for any problem.
Responsibility is only mentioned in the context of who to contact regarding this. It’s basically do not bother my wife I cheated on, she only found out about it from the news like all of you.
Responsibility implies consequences and as far as I can tell there are none so far, other than minor embarrassment.
>the first time in a long time that I see an apology letter written from a business person in the name of the company that actually admits wrongdoing and has accountability
Yeah, but how often is a "business person" (a) clearly personally, entirely responsible for a mistake like this and (b) is a significant enough "business person" for such a public letter to even matter?
To put it another way, Huang's apologie is how someone in his position would address a situation like this. It's not very impressive to hear a CEO make a personable apology for making such a personal mistake. Like, how else would it read?
Like, it wasn't that long ago that Bill Gates' got called out for similar things and made a similar apology (https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-apologizes-to-founda...). Of course, Bill Gates isn't at the center of the world's entire economy while getting caught sleeping with a Chinese spy, so there wasn't as much scrutiny on him.
"I'm very sorry I got caught."
Look, Jensen got whatever he wanted, China got the GPUs it wanted - China also turned Jensen into a staunch advocate for selling GPUs to China - everything's good - everyone wins.
"Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang challenged US export controls on advanced semiconductors, arguing that continued technology collaboration and access to the Chinese market are ultimately in America’s best interest. Speaking to reporters in South Korea this week, Huang described China as a “singular, vital, important, dynamic market, and nobody can replace that.” He asserted he would continue campaigning for full access to this market, stating he is "optimistic" that China will remain a key consumer of US chips."
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/nvi...
He's not a traitor or a spy he's a capitalist wanting to make money - that's the American way.
Do you have a lot of Nvidia stock? . Embarrassing reading this.
how is it refreshing to see if he had no other option. Wasn't he denying it just last week?
I dont get all the Jensen glazing. "we are all human and all of us make mistakes. " . ok so what?
Responsibility means taking consequences when you/your company failed or you took missteps. Too often I read of "taking full responsibility" as an empty phrase that invalidates said ownership of responsibility.