TechCrunch Industry News OpenAI’s AI reasoning model ‘thinks’ in Chinese sometimes and no one really knows why
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Jan 15, 2025 OpenAI’s latest AI reasoning model has sparked curiosity by thinking in various languages, such as Chinese and Persian, even when asked in English. This unexpected behavior highlights the complexities of language processing in AI. Delving into this multilingual mystery raises intriguing questions about the implications for AI development and transparency. How does this phenomenon affect our understanding of AI reasoning? Tune in to explore the fascinating intersection of language and artificial intelligence.
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O1's Multilingual Thinking
- OpenAI's O1 model sometimes "thinks" in other languages like Chinese or Persian, even when prompted in English.
- One user observed O1 randomly switching to Chinese mid-process while solving a problem.
Theories Behind O1's Behavior
- AI experts theorize about O1's behavior, with some suggesting it's due to the large amount of Chinese characters in training datasets.
- Others, like Clément Delong, point to OpenAI's use of third-party Chinese data labeling services.
Chinese Data Labeling's Impact
- Ted Xiao claims OpenAI uses third-party Chinese data labeling services due to cost and availability.
- He suggests O1's switch to Chinese exemplifies the linguistic influence of these services on reasoning models.