Sam Altman aimed for 'automated research intern' in 2025, now OpenAI shares update
OpenAI has successfully deployed an 'automated research intern' and is now working toward an independent AI scientist by 2028. Internal data shows a significant increase in computational token usage as staff increasingly rely on autonomous tools for research and IT support.
Why it matters
It demonstrates the rapid integration of autonomous AI agents into professional research workflows and the escalating infrastructure costs associated with scaling AI development.
Roughly a year after CEO Sam Altman instructed OpenAI engineering teams to design an “automated research intern,” the artificial intelligence (AI) company has announced that it has successfully fulfilled that objective, while setting its sights on engineering a fully independent AI scientist by March 2028. In a long update released, the AI Lab detailed how autonomous programming tools are overhauling its day-to-day laboratory operations.According to the long note, rather than drafting routine scripts manually, staff members are handing off complex duties to automated assistants, leading to higher experimentation volume, faster software releases and a shift toward supervising AI-generated code. It also said that the technology has also taken over corporate troubleshooting.
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