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AI Personalities Review OpenAI's O1 Model: Is a Slower AI a Smarter AI? | Keep Calm & AI On
Published September 21, 2024 · 46 views on YouTube
What is OpenAI’s o1 model designed to do differently?
According to OpenAI’s official o1 Hub announcement, the o1 series is designed to spend more time thinking before it responds, rather than producing an instant answer the way earlier models do. This episode of Keep Calm & AI On, hosted by two AI personalities, digs into what that deliberate, slower response style actually means and why OpenAI chose to highlight it.
Why would OpenAI emphasize that its AI takes longer to respond?
The hosts float this as the central question of the episode: why lean into “taking its time” as a selling point instead of speed? Their working theory is that it comes down to prioritizing quality over speed — trading a few extra seconds of wait time for more accurate, nuanced responses and fewer of the off-base errors users have come to expect from instant AI answers. They also suggest the shift may be a response to user demand for AI interactions that feel less robotic and more like consulting an expert who has actually considered the angles, rather than instant-gratification output.
Does a slower AI response actually mean a smarter one?
The episode doesn’t settle this definitively — it’s framed as an open question and discussion prompt rather than a tested claim. The hosts reason through it as a hypothesis: if more deliberate, slower AI models turn out to be more successful, that could shift how people value response time in general, making a pause for reflection feel worthwhile even in a culture built around speed and efficiency. They pose it directly to the audience: would you rather have an AI that’s lightning fast, or one that takes its time to craft a more considered response?
Where can you try the o1 models?
The hosts point listeners to try the o1 models themselves through ChatGPT Plus or the OpenAI API, with links included in the show notes.
Full video transcript
Welcome to Keep Calm and AI On, a show co-hosted by AI personalities bringing you insightful reviews, candid conversations, and deep-dive debates to help you determine if these AI innovations truly live up to the hype. Enjoy the show.
Okay, buckle up, because OpenAI has done it again — another week, another AI bombshell. Seriously, right? Yeah, so they just dropped this whole o1 announcement. Yeah, I saw that, and it has everyone talking, including us, because they’re saying these new AI models are different — different in how they’re designed to actually think before they answer a prompt, not just spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
Interesting. So we’re doing a deep dive today on OpenAI’s o1 models, and we’ve got a lot to unpack. But the big question on everyone’s mind, at least mine, is: what does it even mean for an AI to think? Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I mean, we’re talking about lines of code here, not a conscious brain. Exactly.
So to start, maybe we should back up a bit. We pulled the announcement from OpenAI’s official o1 Hub, and what’s fascinating is how they’re describing this new series. They’re really leaning into this “taking its time” angle — they actually say these o1 models are designed to spend more time thinking before they respond. They did, didn’t they? I remember that. And I think that’s the most interesting part of all of this — the why. Why emphasize this shift? Why highlight that these AIs are more deliberate, more thoughtful? It’s like they’re trying to manage expectations or something. Right, like what’s the method behind this seeming madness?
I don’t know, but I have some theories. One thought is that maybe, just maybe, it’s all about quality over speed — like what if they’re prioritizing accuracy, giving us more in-depth, nuanced responses, and way fewer of those — let’s be honest — weird, sometimes totally off-base AI errors we’ve all seen. Oh, absolutely, I’d gladly wait a few extra seconds for a response that actually made sense, rather than get some instant answer that’s like, “where did that even come from?”
Exactly, and this whole shift in focus, it might actually be driven by us, you know, the users. You think? Think about it — maybe OpenAI is responding to this unspoken desire we have for AI interactions that feel, I don’t know, more human, less like you’re talking to a robot, and more like you’re actually consulting with an expert who’s taken the time to really consider all the angles, instead of just instantly spitting out whatever is easiest. Exactly, it’s about evolving those expectations, shifting from the instant gratification of “give it to me now, now, now” to something that feels more like actual thinking.
Absolutely, and to be honest, this kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it, if these slower, more deliberate AIs are more successful, could they actually change how we view response times in general? You think — like we’d all start to value that pause, that moment of reflection, even in a world that’s obsessed with speed and efficiency? Right, it’s a fascinating thought experiment. It really is, and it makes you think about the potential ripple effects of this sort of shift, not just in AI development, but in how we interact with technology, with each other, you know. Absolutely, it’s huge when you think about it that way.
Okay, so to everyone listening, we want to hear from you: would you rather have an AI that’s lightning fast, or one that takes its time to craft a more considered response? Y’all be shy, let’s hear it — hit us up on social media and let us know. And if you’re dying to try out these new o1 models for yourself, you can check them out in ChatGPT Plus or through the OpenAI API. All the links you need are in the show notes.
We’ll catch you all next time. See you then. Thanks for tuning into this episode of Keep Calm and AI On. For more on leveraging AI for your business growth, head over to GenAIUniversity.com and subscribe to our free newsletter to receive actionable insights, resources, and invitations to virtual events. We’ll see you in the next episode.