OpenAI is working on AI models that are capable of reasoning and ‘deep research’

OpenAI, the company behind the widely known ChatGPT, is developing a new approach to artificial intelligence (AI) through a project named “Strawberry.” This project, which has not been publicly detailed before, aims to significantly enhance the reasoning capabilities of AI models, a crucial area where current models often fall short.

The project “Strawberry” has been in development for some time, as revealed by internal OpenAI documents reviewed by Reuters in May. However, the exact date of these documents remains unclear, and details about how Strawberry works are closely guarded even within the company. The project’s goal is to enable AI to not only generate responses to queries but also to plan ahead and navigate the internet autonomously for deep research, a capability that has eluded AI models so far.

An OpenAI spokesperson commented on the project, emphasizing the company’s ongoing efforts to improve AI’s ability to understand and interact with the world in a human-like manner.

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Previously known as “Q*,” Strawberry has already been viewed internally as a significant breakthrough. Earlier demos of Q* showcased AI models capable of answering complex science and math questions that current commercially available models struggle with. There are reports of AI models scoring over 90% on a challenging MATH dataset, although it’s not confirmed if this is directly related to Strawberry.

During an internal meeting, OpenAI demonstrated a research project with new human-like reasoning skills. However, details of this demonstration were not disclosed, and it’s unclear if it was related to Strawberry.

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The aim of Strawberry is to dramatically improve the reasoning capabilities of AI models. This involves a specialized post-training process where the AI models are fine-tuned after their initial training on large datasets. This process, similar to a method developed at Stanford called “Self-Taught Reasoner” or “STaR,” allows AI to iteratively create its own training data, potentially achieving higher levels of intelligence.

Strawberry’s objectives include performing long-horizon tasks (LHT), which require planning and executing a series of actions over an extended period. OpenAI is developing, training, and evaluating models on a “deep-research” dataset to achieve this. Although the contents of this dataset and the specifics of the tasks remain undisclosed, the company intends for its AI models to autonomously conduct research and perform tasks like those of software and machine learning engineers.

As OpenAI continues to push the boundaries of AI capabilities, it faces competition from other tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, all of which are exploring ways to enhance AI reasoning. The debate within the AI research community continues on whether large language models can achieve human-like reasoning. While some researchers are optimistic, others, like Yann LeCun from Meta, remain skeptical about the current capabilities of these models.

OpenAI’s Strawberry project represents a significant step towards addressing the challenges of AI reasoning, aiming to enable models that can perform complex, multi-step tasks reliably. As the company prepares to potentially release this technology, it signals to developers and stakeholders the promise of AI models with advanced reasoning capabilities, marking a crucial development in the field of artificial intelligence.