OpenAI plans to release its next advanced AI model, codenamed Orion, by December this year. According to The Verge, the model will not be available immediately via ChatGPT, but will instead be offered to companies closely collaborating with OpenAI. This will enable them to create unique features and products based on Orion. Developers from Microsoft are expected to gain access to the model in November, although the launch may be adjusted, the publication adds.

A New Era in AI Development: o1, Orion, and GPT Next

In September 2023, OpenAI introduced the o1 language model, which uses reinforcement learning to solve highly complex tasks. Previously, this model was codenamed Strawberry, and the project was known as Q*. Now, the company is advancing Orion as its new flagship neural network, designed for text understanding and generation with multimodal capabilities, which could potentially replace the current GPT-4. Another development, GPT Next, is said to be 100 times more powerful than previous models, bringing OpenAI closer to the concept of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).

Changes in OpenAI’s Security Team

On October 23, security expert Miles Brandage announced his departure from OpenAI. His position was related to the AGI Readiness department, which advised the company on managing increasingly powerful AI and society’s ability to control the technology. The disbanding of this department led to the redistribution of staff across other teams.

Previously, the Superalignment group, responsible for controlling and assessing AGI risks, was led by OpenAI co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, and was shut down in May 2023.

OpenAI’s Ambitions and the Future of AGI

AGI is a theoretical model capable of performing tasks at human-level proficiency when provided with the same resources. OpenAI continues to develop the technology, bringing the creation of AGI closer, which has already raised questions about its safety and the ethical implications of its use.

In October 2023, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in funding, valuing the company at $157 billion.