OpenAI Researchers’ Warning About Dangers of New AI Project May Have Been a Factor in CEO’s Firing
Updated: Dec 17, 2023
More details are starting to emerge about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's sudden firing and triumphant return.
According to Reuters, several OpenAI staff researchers sent the board a letter warning them about a new aritifical intelligence (AI) project that has the potential to threaten humanity ahead of Altman's four-day exile.
Dubbed Q* (pronounced Q-Star), the project is said to be a breakthrough in the startup's search for superintelligence, or artificial general intelligence (AGI), which are AI systems that are smarter than humans. The new model reportedly leverages vast computing resources to solve mathematical problems. While its problem-solving skills are currently on the level of grade-school students, the researchers from the startup behind ChatGPT are said to be optimistic about the model's future capabilities.
The generative AI models of today are good at writing and language translation as these only require them to predict words based on statistics. Answers to word questions can also vary widely. Whereas in math problems and equations, there's only one right answer, requiring AI models to have greater reasoning capabilities. AI researchers believe that these capabilities can then be used in novel scientific research.
AGI models are also different from calculators that are limited to pre-programmed operations as they can learn and comprehend.
Reuters' sources said that these capabilities are what OpenAI's researchers flagged in the letter as potential dangers, though they didn't specify the exact safety concerns. The letter was also cited as one factor among a list of grievances by the board that led to Altman’s firing.
Altman already teased to the public that he thinks AGI isn't too far off now.
"Four times now in the history of OpenAI, the most recent time was just in the last couple weeks, I've gotten to be in the room, when we sort of push the veil of ignorance back and the frontier of discovery forward, and getting to do that is the professional honor of a lifetime," he said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last week.
A day after his appearance at that summit, he was fired by the board from OpenAI.
In what has been a dramatic and turn of events, however, on Tuesday, it was reported that he's returning to the ChatGPT startup as CEO after reaching an agreement in principle with the board. Greg Brockman, President and Co-Founder of OpenAI, who resigned from his post after Altman was fired is also returning. Their return comes after more than 700 employees of the startup threatened to quit and join Microsoft in solidarity with Altman.
Several OpenAI staff researchers reportedly sent the board a letter warning them about a new aritifical intelligence (AI) project that has the potential to threaten humanity ahead of CEO Sam Altman's firing.
Dubbed Q*, the project is said to be a breakthrough in the startup's search for superintelligence, or artificial general intelligence (AGI), which are AI systems that are smarter than humans.
The letter was cited as one factor among a list of grievances by the board that led to Altman’s firing.
OpenAI would later announce that its board has reached an agreement in principle with Altman for him to return as CEO.