What is Q* or Q-learning in relation to OpenAI?

The recent developments at OpenAI, involving the temporary dismissal of CEO Sam Altman, have drawn significant attention in the AI and finance sectors.

According to a report by Reuters on November 22, just before Altman’s brief period of exile, a group of staff researchers penned a letter to the board of directors, alerting them to a potent AI discovery they believed could pose a threat to humanity.

If you google Q* and Open AI there are not many results there but you can find several news outlets mentioning about Q* and a letter.

This letter, along with an AI algorithm named Q*, could have been key factors in the board’s decision to temporarily remove Altman from his position.

Sam Altman, a prominent figure in the field of generative AI, was later reinstated following a tumultuous period marked by the threat of over 700 employees to resign and join Microsoft, a major backer of OpenAI, in solidarity with their dismissed leader.

The letter, as reported by two individuals familiar with the matter, was one of several issues that contributed to the board’s dissatisfaction with Altman, including concerns about the premature commercialization of advanced AI technologies without fully grasping their implications.

Reuters, which was unable to obtain a copy of the letter for review, noted that the authors of the letter did not respond to requests for comments. Following inquiries from Reuters, OpenAI acknowledged internally the existence of both the project Q* and the letter to the board, as per a message sent by Mira Murati, a long-standing executive at the company.

Some within OpenAI view Q* (pronounced Q-Star) as a potential breakthrough in the company’s quest for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), defined as autonomous systems capable of outperforming humans in most economically valuable tasks.

With substantial computing resources at its disposal, the new model demonstrated the ability to solve certain mathematical problems, albeit at a grade-school level.

Despite this modest start, the successful completion of these tasks has led to optimism about the future prospects of Q*.