OpenAI researchers warned of potent AI discovery before Sam Altman's ouster

Prior to the abrupt ouster of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a group of staff researchers reportedly penned a letter to the board revealing a significant breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) that could pose risks to humanity, Reuters report quoting sources said on Thursday.

This revelation -- the development of an AI algorithm named Q* (pronounced Q-star) -- played a pivotal role in the board's decision to remove Altman. The letter was cited as one of several factors leading to Altman's dismissal, amidst a broader set of grievances related to the commercialisation of advancements without a full understanding of consequences.

The letter and emergence of the Q* project, undisclosed until now, were significant events leading to Altman's temporary removal. Over 700 employees had reportedly threatened to resign in solidarity with Altman, bringing out a sense of discontent within the company.

OpenAI acknowledged the Q* project and the letter in an internal message to staff. The message, sent by executive Mira Murati, informed employees about certain media stories without commenting on their accuracy.

The Q* project, believed by some at OpenAI to be a breakthrough in the quest for artificial general intelligence (AGI), demonstrated promising capabilities in solving specific mathematical problems. Though currently limited to the level of grade-school students, the model's success in mathematical tasks fuelled optimism among researchers about its future potential.

The researchers, in their letter to the board, emphasised AI's prowess and potential risks, without specifying the exact safety concerns. The field of AI has long grappled with discussions about the potential dangers posed by highly intelligent machines, especially if they develop decision-making capabilities that could threaten humanity.

Additionally, researchers pointed to the work of an "AI scientist" team tasked with optimising existing AI models for improved reasoning and scientific work, further emphasising OpenAI's explorations in advancing AI capabilities.

To steer ChatGPT's rapid growth, Altman drew substantial investment and computing resources from Microsoft to propel OpenAI closer to AGI. In a recent summit, Altman hinted at major advances on the horizon. "Four times now in the history of OpenAI... I've gotten to be in the room when we sort of push the veil of ignorance back and the frontier of discovery forward,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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