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What happened to OpenAI's technological edge in reasoning AI after Sam Altman's claim?

agiPolicy & EthicsFuture of Work

Drawn from Lutz Finger's Forbes column, LinkedIn writing, and Cornell teaching. Sources are cited inline so you can read the originals.

A 60-day head start evaporated when DeepSeek launched R1.

By the end of 2024, Sam Altman claimed OpenAI now knows how to build reasoning AI agents. After less than 60 days, this technological edge is gone. China has caught up. DeepSeek’s R1, a Chinese AI model, uses the same self-critique and iterative learning approach with stunning results. The edge OpenAI thought it had disappeared remarkably quickly, proving that leads in AI capabilities can evaporate in just weeks.

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