Given the sums of money involved, it's hard for me to take these highly publicized heroic resignations at face value.

Maybe more an indication of the amount of trust openAI and AI researchers generally have (not) earned. When one (through a hired PR agency and Time magazine article) parrots the position pushed by Sam who has been so untrustworthy the board tried to remove him, it’s worth not taking things at face value and applying a critical lens.