OpenAI is reportedly tracking its progress toward building artificial general intelligence (AGI). This is AI that can outperform humans on most tasks. Using a set of five levels, the company can gauge its progress towards its ultimate goal.
According to Bloomberg, OpenAI believes its technology is approaching the second level of five on the path to artificial general intelligence. Anna Gallotti, co-chair of the International Coaching Federation’s special task force for AI and coaching, called this a “super AI” scale when sharing on LinkedIn, seeing the possibility for entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants.
Axios said that AI experts disagree over whether “today’s large language models, which excel at generating text and images, will ever be capable of broadly understanding the world and flexibly adapting to novel information and circumstances.” Disagreement means blind spots, which lead to opportunity.
Expert opinions aside, how much AI are you using in your business? How much is in the pipeline, and what are you doing about it today? Here are those five steps and what each means for you.
The 5 steps towards artificial general intelligence: OpenAI’s metrics
Level one: conversational AI
At level one, the current stage of AI, computers can interact in conversational language with people. Think customer service support agents, AI coaches, ChatGPT and Claude conversing with your team and helping you write your social media content. Hopefully, you’re doing something at this level right now.
Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022 it’s signed up 180.5 million users, many of whom are entrepreneurs. Three million developers use OpenAI’s API to build their tools, and ChatGPT consultant is one of the highest paid roles in AI. This is the beginning.
Level two: reasoning AI
Apparently coming in the near future, this is when systems (referred to as “reasoners”) can perform basic problem-solving tasks comparable to a human with a doctorate-level education but without access to any tools.
According to a Hacker News forum, “The jump from level one to level two is significant as it involves a transition from basic and limited capabilities to a more comprehensive and human-like proficiency.” This leap holds possibility and opportunity for everyone in business. But we’re not quite there yet.
Level three: autonomous AI
At level three, AI systems known as “agents” can operate autonomously on a user’s behalf for several days. Imagine having some of those around your business while you take a vacation. Right now, automations don’t work every time. They need monitoring. Technology is working towards a reality where they rarely break, and when they do, they fix themselves without human involvement.
Like team members, but at a fraction of the cost. Like suppliers, but operating entirely on rules and processes with no deviation. How much more could your business achieve at level three of AI?
Level four: innovating AI
Termed “Innovators,” these AI systems can develop innovations independently. Not just running your processes, but improving them. Not just following rules and making predictions of the next word, but critically thinking about how to do a better job and achieve the goal in a more effective or efficient way.
How many people in your business right now are actively thinking about improving it? Could you use a little help from an AI tool that understood your purpose and gave you ideas? Right now you can prompt ChatGPT to help you 10X your business, but it’s not going to do that of its own accord. This would represent a huge leap in the capabilities and application of AI.
Level five: organizational AI
Called “organizations,” this final stage of super AI involves artificial intelligence that is capable of performing the work of an entire organization. Every person you currently have, every function carried out, but performed by agents that work together, make improvements, and run everything required without a human in sight.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, predicts we will reach level five within ten years, while some in the space believe it could take up to fifty years. The actual timeline remains uncertain, but the rapid pace of AI development is undeniable.
Reaching artificial general intelligence: OpenAI’s five step process
The more you learn and understand what AI can do for your business, the more you’ll be able to produce, with fewer resources at each stage. Deploying stage one right now will set you up for success when the technology advances.
Don’t think this doesn’t apply to you. In the future, there will be those who took action now and those who got left behind, thinking they could catch up, and never did. From conversational to reasoning, then autonomous, innovating and organizational AI, each has wildly different implications for how you run your business and live your life.
