OpenAI’s Push for Human-Level AI Is Underway

Reports of OpenAI’s leap toward human-level artificial intelligence (AI) have set the business world abuzz with visions of AI-powered commerce that could rewrite global trade rules — if the tech lives up to the hype.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) represents a hypothetical leap beyond current AI, aiming to match or exceed human cognitive abilities across diverse tasks. In commerce, experts say AGI could revolutionize decision-making, offering deep insights into market trends and consumer behavior. It promises to streamline operations, from supply chain management to product development, with unprecedented efficiency.

According to Reuters, OpenAI is developing a new approach to its AI models under the project code-named “Strawberry,” which aims to enhance the models’ advanced reasoning capabilities. While the precise details and timeline are unclear, the initiative focuses on improving the AI’s ability to understand and process complex information, positioning the Microsoft-backed startup to push the boundaries of what its models can achieve.

“OpenAI’s pursuit of human-level reasoning isn’t just a technological marvel; it’s a narrative of pushing boundaries and sparking new possibilities in every sector,” Ghazenfer Mansoor, founder and CEO of Technology Rivers, told PYMNTS. “In business, AI can dramatically change how supply chains are managed, forecast market trends with great accuracy, and make customer experiences very personal on a big scale.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PYMNTS.

Human-Like Reasoning

Earlier this year, Reuters reported that OpenAI staffers showed demos of AI models capable of answering tricky science and math questions, with one model scoring over 90% on a championship math dataset. At a recent internal meeting, OpenAI showcased a project with new human-like reasoning skills, but it’s unclear if this is related to the Strawberry project.

“The way such an algorithm can work is by creating multiple options, following a tree of possibilities, and then reasoning about the outcome and choosing the best path,” SmythOS CTO Alexander De Ridder told PYMNTS. “This is similar to how chess players think different steps ahead before choosing to move their piece.”

De Ridder suggested that OpenAI’s innovation likely involves “an algorithmic breakthrough in how to do this efficiently and scalably,” potentially combining “autonomous web research and tool usage to arrive at a reasoning breakthrough.”

OpenAI has reportedly developed a five-level classification system to track progress toward AGI, positioning its current technology at Level 1. The company, known for its advanced language models, plans to share this framework with investors and external parties, signaling a potential breakthrough in the quest for AI that can outperform humans across various tasks.

Contextual reasoning is critical to progressing AI technology forward, so being on the verge of this capability coming to life brings us another step closer to artificial general intelligence, Nick Sanchez, senior solutions architect at DRUID AI, told PYMNTS.

He added, “By including reasoning as a dimension within predictions, AI can contextualize the purpose of the question being asked and frame data in a way that best suits whoever is asking it.”

From Finance to Healthcare

The experts highlight various applications of advanced AI reasoning. “Creating robotic assistants that can move around in the real world and reason in it would be a significant advancement. Reasoning over scientific data at human level understanding would transform and accelerate how we make discoveries,” De Ridder pointed out.

Sanchez focuses on human-centric implications: “Advanced reasoning will be able to make more context of the initial input, which impacts the output, creating a more efficient and personalized interaction for users.” He provides an example: “If someone asks their bank chatbot for their account balance as they have a bill to pay tomorrow, but they’re low on funds, the AI can share a more empathetic response due to a better understanding of the situation.”

The potential impact on healthcare is particularly significant. Mansoor noted, “AI with human-level reasoning could revolutionize diagnostics, treatment planning, and drug discovery. It could analyze complex medical data, understand patient histories, and propose personalized treatment plans with unprecedented accuracy.”

“AI-powered thinking can increase efficiency, help with decisions based on data, and encourage new ideas. Companies that use AI can change how they do things, becoming quicker to adapt and better at planning for the future,” Mansoor elaborated.

In the competitive landscape, De Ridder said: “OpenAI has lost the lead of being the best in every category and for every type of user, but retains arguably the strongest model of the world and leads in accessibility.” He pointed out advancements by other companies, including Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 model family and Google’s Gemini 1.5 pro flash.

The race for human-level AI also raises important questions about benchmarking and evaluation. De Ridder explained: “It’s universally accepted that current benchmarks need improvement. The previous benchmark standards have either been polluted by new training runs, have proven inadequate/flawed, or have become too easy for AI models.”

The potential for transformative applications grows as the AI industry pushes towards human-level reasoning. However, challenges remain in bridging the gap between current AI models and true human-like understanding and reasoning. Ethical considerations, including privacy concerns and the potential for job displacement, also loom large.

“As these abilities get better, they can change many fields, give businesses new and deep understandings, and start a fresh period of creativity and effectiveness,” Mansoor said, emphasizing the need for responsible development and deployment of these powerful technologies.

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