OpenAI performance leaps forward, launching new model architecture OpenAI o1

OpenAI has introduced a new model family called OpenAI o1, which represents a significant leap in AI performance, especially for complex reasoning tasks. The o1 model, revealed on Thursday, is now available to subscribers of the ChatGPT Plus tier. OpenAI describes the model as capable of "thinking before answering," a new approach designed to enhance the system's ability to handle intricate problems.

related reading：OpenAI launches GPT-4o Mini, outperforming GPT-3.5 Turbo

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Key Features and Innovations

1. Deliberative Reasoning: OpenAI o1 employs a chain-of-thought approach, allowing the model to break down complex tasks into smaller steps before generating a final response. This enables more thoughtful, coherent answers in areas like coding, calculus, and data analysis.
2. Superior Performance: According to OpenAI’s internal benchmarks, even the smallest model in this family surpasses GPT-4o (the top-tier in the previous series) in tasks requiring high levels of reasoning, particularly in PhD-level challenges.
3. Focused on Complex Tasks: While o1 excels in reasoning and problem-solving tasks, it has shown less dramatic improvement in creative areas like writing. However, human evaluators have still rated the overall results highly.
4. Chain-of-Thought Process: The new models are trained using reinforcement learning, which optimizes their performance by encouraging step-by-step reasoning before arriving at a conclusion. This structure allows the model to allocate more resources toward reasoning, potentially reducing the chances of producing incorrect or harmful outputs.
5. Jailbreak Resistance: Due to the segmented reasoning process, the model may be more resilient to jailbreaking techniques, where users attempt to bypass AI safety measures. However, initial reports suggest that jailbreaks have already been found for OpenAI o1 shortly after release.
6. Scalability Concerns: Some questions remain regarding the scalability of this approach for real-time applications that require fast responses, as deliberative reasoning can take extra time.

OpenAI o1 arouses widespread expectations

• Free Access: OpenAI plans to release the smallest version of o1 for free, with API access costing 80% less than the o1-preview model. However, access is currently limited, with users restricted to 30 messages per week for o1-preview and 50 messages per week for o1-mini.
• Rollout in Phases: While the model was set to release today, some users have reported that they do not yet have access, indicating a phased rollout.

Industry Reactions:

There’s growing anticipation over the true novelty of the model’s architecture, with technical observers debating whether the chain-of-thought approach introduces significant changes or simply builds on previous models. Regardless, OpenAI o1 represents an important step toward more advanced AI capabilities.