OpenAI: The capability overhang and AI for self-empowerment

OpenAI has set out principles to manage what it calls the "capability overhang," and said expanding access and information will help people use AI to increase individual productivity.

The company, in an announcement, described a capability overhang that it said is the gap between what AI systems can now do and the value most people, businesses, and countries capture from them at scale.

AI's effects have played out in surprising ways since ChatGPT launched three years ago, the LLM pioneer commented.

ChatGPT usage data, the company said, shows the typical power user uses 7x more thinking power than the typical user and applies advanced capabilities across a wider range of tasks to produce more economically valuable work.

"We create AI in order to empower people ... One challenge with even understanding the size of the capability overhang is that AI is a very counterintuitive technology which continually plays out in surprising ways," OpenAI said in the company blog post.

"We launched ChatGPT three years ago with an at-the-time frontier AI that could answer simple questions and were shocked by how quickly it was adopted and the creative ways people found to apply it in their lives. We now have frontier AI which can reason and act across increasingly complex tasks, from building software to performing mathematical research, and we don’t yet know the full extent of how it will integrate into business or personal life.

"As Alan Kay said, the best way to predict the future is to invent it, and we’ve found that it takes a community of people exploring these tools to find amazing new uses that their capability has unlocked."

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OpenAI noted it is now publishing foundational economic data and performance measurements, has created a free tier of ChatGPT supported by advertising, launched a new industry-standard API for developers, and works with institutions, including governments, to broaden access to frontier AI capabilities.

The company said it expects AI to enable outcomes such as double-digit GDP growth, more affordable and effective healthcare, and rapid scientific advancement, and urged focus on managing the capability overhang so more people, businesses, and countries can empower themselves.

The Recap

• OpenAI published principles to manage the capability overhang.
• ChatGPT data shows typical power users use 7x more thinking.
• Company says public data and access will expand empowerment.