GPT-5 Will Have Ph.D Level Intelligence

Lin Dane
8 min readJul 3, 2024

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The most important thing is that the models are just going to get smarter, generally across the board. There will be a lot of other things too, which we can talk about, but if you think about what happened from GPT-3 to 3.5 to 4, it just got smarter.

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OpenAI, the company behind the famous GPT four language model, is hinting at the arrival of GPT-5 with a PhD level intelligence. This isn’t just about chatbots getting better at conversation. GPT-5 promises to tackle complex tasks with expertise rivaling a PhD. But what exactly does that mean? Let’s dive into the potential of GPT-5 and explore how it might transform various fields.

GPT-5 PhD Level Intelligence

The next advancement of chat GPT has long been the subject of speculation and excitement. Now, OpenAI has shared information about the highly anticipated GPT-5.

The company has announced that the release will be delayed until late 2025 or early 2026. Contrary to 2024 expectations, however, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has recently clarified that there is no fixed timeline for the release. The development of such an advanced model involves extensive research, testing and refinement to ensure it meets high standards of safety, reliability and performance. Therefore, the release date remains uncertain and will depend on when the model is deemed ready.

Mira Murati, the chief technology officer of OpenAI, provided some valuable insights during an interview with Dartmouth Engineering. She discussed the capabilities and potential of GPT-5, highlighting how this new version is expected to surpass its predecessors.

In many ways, the intelligence of current AI models can be compared to human developmental stages. She explained that versions like GPT-3 are similar to a toddler in terms of intelligence. They have basic capabilities but are still limited in their understanding and performance.

On the other hand, GPT-4 is comparable to a smart high school student. It’s much more advanced and capable, able to handle a wider range of tasks with greater sophistication. However, the upcoming GPT-5 promises to achieve what Murati describes as PhD level intelligence for specific tasks.

This means that GPT-5 is expected to perform at a highly advanced level in certain areas, demonstrating deep understanding, reasoning and expertise similar to that of a doctoral graduate in those fields. This leaping capability is not just a technical milestone, it represents a big shift in the potential applications and impact of artificial intelligence.

The advancements in GPT-5 are exciting because they open up new possibilities for AI to assist in complex and specialized areas.

For example, it could be used in scientific research, medical diagnostics, and advanced problem solving where a high level of expertise is required. This could lead to breakthroughs in various fields, driven by AI’s ability to analyze, synthesize, and generate insights at a level previously unattainable. However, this progression also raises important questions about the future of artificial intelligence.

As AI systems become more capable and intelligent, issues such as ethical use, control, and the potential societal impact become more pressing. There is a growing need to ensure that these powerful tools are used responsibly and that their development includes safeguards to prevent misuse.

GPT-5 Potential Capabilities

The development of GPT-5 promises to bring significant advancements across multiple sectors, leveraging its advanced capabilities to solve complex problems and improve various aspects of our lives.

Its potential to reach PhD levels of intelligence for specific tasks means that it could provide expert level support and insights in fields that require deep knowledge and sophisticated understanding, paving the way for a future where AI plays an integral role in the field of education. An AI capable of reaching PhD levels could radically change the way students learn. Personalized tutoring systems powered by GPT-5 could offer tailored support to students in complex subjects, helping them grasp difficult concepts and improve their academic performance.

Imagine a virtual tutor that understands the specific needs and learning pace of each student, providing customized explanations, answering questions, and offering practice problems that adapt in real time to the student’s progress. This could make high quality education more accessible, especially in areas where resources are limited.

In medicine, GPT-5 could assist healthcare professionals by providing detailed analysis and insights based on vast amounts of medical data.

For instance, it could help in diagnosing diseases by analyzing patient records, medical histories, and research papers to suggest possible conditions and treatments. This could enhance the accuracy of diagnoses and enable personalized treatment plans.

Moreover, GPT-5 could support medical research by identifying patterns and trends in large datasets, helping researchers develop new drugs and therapies more efficiently.

In the technology sector, GPT-5 could revolutionize how we develop and interact with software. For example, it could help programmers by writing code debugging, and suggesting improvements based on best practices and the latest advancements in the field. Additionally, GPT-5 could enhance user experiences by powering more intelligent and responsive virtual assistants, customer service bots, and other interactive applications for research in general, GPT-5 could act as an invaluable tool for scientists and scholars.

This advanced AI can significantly accelerate the pace of scientific and technological discoveries. One of the most time consuming tasks for researchers is sifting through massive amounts of data to find relevant information and discern meaningful patterns. GPT-5, with its enhanced analytical capabilities, could process and analyze these large datasets much faster and more accurately than humans.

By quickly identifying trends and correlations, GPT-5 can highlight critical insights that might otherwise be overlooked. This ability to efficiently manage and interpret data can save researchers countless hours, allowing them to focus on the more creative and theoretical aspects of their work. Additionally, GPT-5 capacity to generate hypotheses can be a game changer in the research field. It can propose new ideas and theories based on the data it analyzes, offering fresh perspectives that researchers might not have considered. These hypotheses can then be tested and explored further, potentially leading to groundbreaking discoveries. By automating the initial stages of hypothesis generation, GPT-5 enables researchers to accelerate the scientific method, moving more quickly from data collection to experimentation and validation.

In technological innovation, GPT-5 can aid in the development of new products and solutions.

For instance, in fields like materials science, biotechnology, or engineering, GPT-5 can analyze experimental results, simulate various scenarios, and suggest optimal approaches for further investigation. This can lead to more rapid prototyping, testing, and refinement of new technologies.

Moreover, GPT-5’s ability to identify patterns can be particularly valuable in interdisciplinary research, where the integration of knowledge from different fields is crucial. By finding connections between disparate datasets, GPT-5 can facilitate collaboration among researchers from various disciplines, fostering a more holistic approach to problem solving.

PhD Level Intelligence Capability

While GPT-5 capabilities are exciting, but it has limitations. It won’t be a universal problem solver or a substitute for human judgment and creativity in all areas. Instead, its strength lies in its ability to complement human expertise in specific domains, making certain tasks more efficient and effective. This balance perspective helps set realistic expectations and shows the importance of integrating AI thoughtfully into our workflows and decision making processes.

This specialized focus is a big strength of GPT-5. By excelling in specific areas, it can provide highly precise and useful applications. For instance, GPT-5 might be incredibly adept at tasks where it can analyze data and generate insights with precision.

In contrast, it might still struggle with tasks that require a broader understanding or more general cognitive abilities. The idea is that GPT-5 will act as a powerful tool in fields where deep, specialized knowledge is crucial. This could transform industries by enhancing productivity and innovation.

Researchers, analysts, and professionals in various fields could rely on GPT-5 to handle complex, time consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work. One of the standout features of GPT-5 is its expected size and complexity. It is rumored to have 52 trillion parameters, which are the elements of the model that are fine tuned during training to enable it to make predictions or generate responses to put this into perspective, the current model, GPT-4, has fewer parameters, making GPT-5 a major leap forward in terms of its potential capabilities.

Internally codenamed Gobi and Arrakis, GPT-5 is set to be a multimodal model, which means it will be capable of understanding and generating multiple forms of data, such as text, images, and possibly even audio or video. This makes GPT-5 far more versatile compared to previous versions, which primarily focused on text.

Moreover, Altman mentioned that the model’s name might change before its official release.

This means that while we currently refer to it as GPT-5, it could be launched under a different name. This flexibility in naming indicates that OpenAI is focused more on the capabilities and quality of the model, rather than adhering to a specific release date or name.

GPT-5 Potential Challenges

Even though GPT-5 has many exciting uses, creating such advanced AI also brings big ethical problems.

One major worry is that people might rely too much on AI for important tasks. While GPT-5 can analyze complex data and come up with ideas, it’s important to use it wisely to avoid problems. For example, if we depend too much on AI, there might be less human supervision, which could mean mistakes go unnoticed or decisions are made without enough human input.

Data privacy and cybersecurity are also paramount concerns as AI systems like GPT-5 handle large amounts of sensitive information. Ensuring that this data is protected from misuse and breaches is essential. There must be strict measures in place to safeguard personal and confidential information, preventing unauthorized access, and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.

The impact of AI on employment is another big issue. Advanced AI systems capable of automating specialized tasks could displace certain professionals. This raises questions about job security and the future of work.

For example, GPT-5 could potentially perform tasks traditionally done by researchers, analysts, and even some creative professionals. While this might lead to greater efficiency, it could also result in job losses. Even Mira Marathi, OpenAI’s CTO, acknowledged this concern, suggesting that some creative jobs might disappear, but also implying that perhaps these jobs were not essential in the first place.

This perspective underscores the need for a thoughtful approach to integrating AI into the workforce. It’s important to consider how to support workers who may be displaced by automation, perhaps through retraining programs, education, and new job creation in AI related fields. Proactive measures are necessary to address these socioeconomic implications.

Policymakers, businesses, and educators need to work together to create strategies that mitigate the negative impacts of AI on employment. This might include promoting lifelong learning, developing skills that complement AI, and ensuring that the benefits of AI advancements are widely shared across society.

Conclusion

While GPT-5’s capabilities remain speculative, the rapid advancement of AI suggests it may approach or surpass human-level expertise in many domains.

However, true Ph.D-level intelligence involves not just knowledge, but also creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to advance human understanding. As we anticipate GPT-5, we must consider both its potential benefits and the ethical implications of such powerful AI.

The future of AI is exciting, but it’s crucial that we guide its development responsibly.

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Lin Dane

AI Engineer & Indie Hacker | AI Engineer at VulcanLabs by day, Indie Hacker by night