On the eve of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's four-day ouster, several staff researchers wrote a letter to the board warning of a powerful discovery in artificial intelligence technology that they said could threaten humanity, two anonymous sources told Reuters.
The previously unreported letter and the new AI algorithm were key developments before the board fired Altman, the people said. Before his return on Tuesday, most of the 700+ employees had threatened to quit and join Microsoft in solidarity with their ousted leader.
Sources cite the letter as one factor among a longer list of board grievances that led to Altman's ouster, including concerns about the commercialization of advances before the consequences were understood. Reuters was unable to see a copy of the letter.
An internal message to employees acknowledged that the project, called Q*, and the board's letter were written to coincide with the weekend's events, one employee said. Some OpenAI believe Q* (pronounced Q-Star) could be a breakthrough in the startup's quest for so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI). OpenAI defines AGIs as autonomous systems that are superior to humans in performing most economically valuable tasks.
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With its enormous computing resources, the new model was able to solve some mathematical problems, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company. The success of such tests has made researchers optimistic about Q*'s future successes.
Researchers see mathematics as the limit for the development of generative AI. While generative artificial intelligence is good at writing and translation, statistically guessing the next word, answers to the same question can vary greatly. But gaining the ability to do mathematics, where there is only one correct answer, means that AI will have greater capabilities for considerations similar to human intelligence. This applies, for example, to new scientific research, AI researchers say.
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Unlike a calculator, which can only make a limited number of trades, AGI can generalize, learn, and comprehend. In their letter to the board, the researchers emphasized the sophistication of AI and its potential dangers, the sources said, without specifying what specific security concerns the letter addressed. There has long been debate among computer scientists about the dangers posed by highly intelligent machines, such as whether they might decide that it is in their interests to destroy humanity. A classic science fiction story.