Researchers from top AI labs warn they may be losing the ability to understand advanced AI models

OpenAI logo on a phone screen. (Credit: Beata Zawrzel—NurPhoto via Getty Images)

• A group of 40 AI researchers, including contributors from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta, and Anthropic, are sounding the alarm on the growing opacity of advanced AI reasoning models. In a new paper, the authors urge developers to prioritize research into “chain-of-thought” (CoT) processes, which provide a rare window into how AI systems make decisions. They are warning that as models become more advanced, this visibility could vanish.

AI researchers from leading labs are warning that they could soon lose the ability to understand advanced AI reasoning models.