Editor’s note: “OpenAI Races Toward AGI with its New Breakthrough Model” was previously published in October 2024. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.

OpenAI’s Ambitious Journey Toward Artificial General Intelligence

Two years ago, tech startup OpenAI made headlines with the introduction of its next-gen chatbot, ChatGPT. This moment marked what many view as the beginning of the Age of AI.

However, this initial launch may have merely scratched the surface of OpenAI’s capabilities.

The company is gearing up for what could be a much larger impact with its ‘second act.’ Experts believe this new phase may position OpenAI as one of the most influential companies globally.

OpenAI is advancing rapidly towards achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is often considered the ultimate goal in the field of AI.

AGI is viewed as the pinnacle of AI technology, capable of “replicating human-like cognitive abilities including reasoning, problem solving, perception, learning, and language comprehension,” as noted by McKinsey & Company.

With AGI, AI tools could potentially exhibit cognitive and emotional skills, such as empathy, comparable to those of humans. Depending on the level of sophistication, they might even understand the implications of their actions.

This breakthrough, when realized, promises to significantly alter many aspects of our lives.

Currently, OpenAI is making significant progress toward this remarkable possibility.

Advancing Towards the AI Revolution

OpenAI has recently unveiled a significant new AI model – ChatGPT o1 – capable of sophisticated reasoning.

While numerous AI models exist today, many share similar structures and capabilities. Models like ChatGPT 4, Gemini, Claude, and Grok mostly serve as chatbots, primarily focused on conversational abilities.

These chatbots can engage in conversation, respond to inquiries, and perform various tasks. Nevertheless, most rely on preset scripts and simple pattern recognition.

These models lack true cognitive ability.

However, ChatGPT o1 has reportedly crossed this threshold.

This model demonstrates logical reasoning, can draw inferences, grasp cause-and-effect connections, and tackle problems by applying knowledge acquired during its training. Thus, it moves beyond task automation to genuinely address complex issues.

OpenAI has stated that “o1 can assist healthcare researchers in annotating cell sequencing data, aid physicists in generating complex mathematical equations for quantum optics, and support developers in diverse fields to create multi-step workflows.”

This represents a significant milestone in AI development. The outcomes are impressive.

Each week, the TrackingAI project administers IQ quizzes to various AI models. Notably, models like ChatGPT 4, Llama 3.1, Claude, Grok, and Bing Copilot typically score around 80 to 90. The average human IQ is approximately 100, indicating that many AI models fall slightly short of human intelligence.

In contrast, ChatGPT o1 achieved a score of 124 on TrackingAI’s IQ test.

This score is nearly 50% higher than that of most other AI models and just below the genius threshold, defined as an IQ above 130, attained by only 2% of the human populace.

Consequently, the breakthrough achieved with ChatGPT o1 represents a notable advancement in AI capabilities.

Final Thoughts

This innovative development brings OpenAI closer to realizing AGI.

Perhaps this is one reason why the company is seeking to raise billions of dollars, which would place its valuation at an impressive $150 billion – attracting considerable interest from investors.

Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are all reportedly looking to invest in this funding round.

It is rare to see Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia unite to invest in the same startup. The implications are noteworthy, and this could very well be the first time such an occurrence has taken place.

In fact, we inquired about this scenario with ChatGPT. (While it’s important to treat its responses with caution, it corroborates this unique investment situation.)