The real research behind the wild rumors about OpenAI’s Q* project

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

On November 22, a few days after OpenAI fired (and then re-hired) CEO Sam Altman, The Information reported that OpenAI had made a technical breakthrough that would allow it to “develop far more powerful artificial intelligence models.” Dubbed Q* (and pronounced “Q star”) the new model was “able to solve math problems that it hadn’t seen before.”

Reuters published a similar story, but details were vague.

Both outlets linked this supposed breakthrough to the board’s decision to fire Altman. Reuters reported that several OpenAI staffers sent the board a letter “warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity.” However, “Reuters was unable to review a copy of the letter,” and subsequent reporting hasn’t connected Altman’s firing to concerns over Q*.

Read 64 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Author: Timothy B. Lee. [Source Link (*), Ars Technica – All content]

Shop with us!