OpenAI has developed an internal scale to measure the progress of its large language models towards artificial general intelligence (AGI), according to BloomBerg. This five-level classification system was shared with employees during an all-hands meeting and is intended to be released to investors and external parties in the future. The scale serves as a framework to track the advancement of AI capabilities and provides a roadmap for achieving human-level artificial intelligence.

The Five Levels

1. Level 1: Current conversational AI systems (e.g., ChatGPT)

   • Represents AI that can interact conversationally with humans
   • OpenAI believes its current models are at this level

2. Level 2: AI capable of solving basic problems at PhD level

   • Called “Reasoners”
   • Can solve problems equivalent to a human with a doctorate-level education, without access to external tools
   • OpenAI is approaching this level

3. Level 3: AI agents that can perform tasks for users

   • Termed “Agents”
   • Capable of spending several days acting on a user’s behalf
   • Represents a significant leap in AI autonomy

4. Level 4: AI that can create new innovations

   • Dubbed “Innovators”
   • Demonstrates creative problem-solving and the ability to generate novel ideas

5. Level 5: AI capable of performing tasks equivalent to organizations of people

   • Referred to as “Organizations”
   • Represents the highest level of AI capability, potentially surpassing human organizational abilities

OpenAI’s AGI Definition

• Highly autonomous system
• Surpasses humans in most economically valuable work
• OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity
• The company acknowledges both the potential benefits and risks associated with AGI development

Key Points

• OpenAI is currently progressing towards Level 2
• The company pledges to support other aligned projects if they achieve AGI first
• Experts’ predictions for AGI achievement vary widely
• Sam Altman estimated “five years, give or take” in October 2023
• The classification system is considered a work in progress and may be adjusted based on feedback

Recent Developments

• Partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory announced
• Aim: Investigate how advanced AI models like GPT-4 can contribute to scientific research
• Goal: Develop a framework for assessing AI capabilities and safety for the US government
• OpenAI demonstrated a research project involving GPT-4 that shows human-like reasoning skills

Challenges and Concerns

• AGI realization requires significant computing power investment, potentially costing billions of dollars
• OpenAI disbanded its safety team in May 2024
• Concerns raised about prioritizing “flashy products” over safety
• Debate within the AI community about how to determine the criteria for reaching AGI

Industry Perspective

• Other companies, like Google DeepMind, have proposed similar frameworks for assessing AI capabilities
• The AI industry is drawing parallels to the automotive industry’s system for assessing self-driving car automation levels
• Experts like Matt Wood from Amazon Web Services suggest that AI has not yet reached its exponential growth phase

This expanded presentation provides a more comprehensive overview of OpenAI’s AI power measurement system and its implications for the development of artificial general intelligence.