OpenAI’s secret Q* project is the one that supposedly represents a danger to the planet. This project has been on everyone’s lips because, in theory, it would be the OpenAI project that has put all its researchers on alert. A danger to the future of the human race could be glimpsed in Q*, supposedly.
Why could the secret Q* project be so threatening?
On a technical level, the secret Q* project could emerge as a new technology startup that would test the performance of general artificial intelligence. The company OpenAI described this general AI system as a group of “autonomous systems that outperform humans” all analyzed from an economic point of view, seeking full productivity and performance.
Why was there so much chaos at OpenAI?
In recent days, in which there has been a lot of criticism and comments about the dismissal of Sam Altman, OpenAI wanted to talk about the situation of the company, clarifying everything about its CEO and his latest projects.
After deciding to fire Sam Altman, OpenAI reconstituted a new board of directors, re-appointing Altman again.
In general, many people did not understand these abrupt changes. Several investors and employees of the company reportedly threatened OpenAI that they would resign together if they did not take back their CEO and leader.
It was rumored that Sam Altman and the former board of directors did not come to an agreement on how to handle an AI that could multitask and perform all its purposes more efficiently than a human being.
According to Reuters, several internal researchers may have written a letter to the board warning them that something very powerful had been discovered about AI. That something, in theory, as yet unexplained and undescribed, “could threaten humanity”.
Could an AI be very human?
The researchers are apparently concerned about the possible commercialization of the secret Q* project, which they see as still premature, since it is not known what consequences it might bring. However, OpenAI stated on several occasions that one of the purposes they have is to develop that concept of general autonomous AI systems, being one of their main goals. The company’s security teams had asked Altman, in theory, for more time, in order to generate more “barriers” and put limits on the new artificial intelligence systems.
Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist at OpenAI, one of the proponents of the protest, explained that AI systems need prior training. In this way, the AI could take instructions just like a human being, putting them on an equal footing. For now, the secret Q* project, according to Reuters and statements made by an anonymous source, can solve math problems at the same level as an elementary school child.
Although this seems like nothing, experts consider learning mathematics to be the frontier in the development of generative AI. This would translate into AI gaining greater reasoning capabilities and better analysis, gradually approaching the form of human intelligence. The fear of it becoming “too human” is the unknown that its developers are still going to have to face, wondering if by developing autonomous thinking it could reveal itself against humanity. What do you think?
