The Information · OpenAI · Anthropic · TechCrunch AI
OpenAI’s new reasoning technique alarms AI safety experts
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OpenAI’s new Astra model will use a reasoning technique called “recurrent depth” that allows it to operate outside of the sequential thinking that characterizes most reasoning models, The Information reported on Tuesday.
Key facts
- While Astra’s use of the technique is reportedly limited, its emergence has still raised significant concerns among AI safety experts
- I am extremely concerned by the reporting that Astra uses opaque recurrence,” wrote Redwood CEO Buck Shlegeris in a post after the news broke
- Longtime AI safety advocate Zvi Mowshowitz also weighed in and wrote that laws might be necessary to prevent a “race to the bottom” among AI labs
- In a post on X, OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki emphasized the lab’s commitment to legible chains of thought
Summary
While Astra’s use of the technique is reportedly limited, its emergence has still raised significant concerns among AI safety experts. “I am extremely concerned by the reporting that Astra uses opaque recurrence,” wrote Redwood CEO Buck Shlegeris in a post after the news broke. Longtime AI safety advocate Zvi Mowshowitz also weighed in and wrote that laws might be necessary to prevent a “race to the bottom” among AI labs. “The technique is playing with fire, risking a taboo that OpenAI and Anthropic have fought to establish that we work hard to maintain Chain of Thought faithfulness and monitorability for as long as we can,” Mowshowitz wrote.