October 28, 2025 News
OpenAI Targets Fully Autonomous AI Researcher by 2028, Superintelligence Within a Decade
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the company is tracking towards achieving an intern-level AI research assistant by September 2026 and a fully automated "legitimate AI researcher" by 2028. Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki stated that deep learning systems could reach superintelligence within a decade, with OpenAI planning massive infrastructure investments including 30 gigawatts of compute capacity costing $1.4 trillion to support these goals.
Skynet Chance (+0.09%): The explicit goal of creating autonomous AI researchers capable of independent scientific breakthroughs, coupled with pursuit of superintelligence "smarter than humans across critical actions," represents significant progress toward systems that could act beyond human control or oversight. The massive infrastructure commitment ($1.4 trillion) suggests these aren't aspirational goals but funded development plans.
Skynet Date (-2 days): OpenAI's concrete timeline (intern-level by 2026, full researcher by 2028, superintelligence within a decade) with massive financial backing ($1.4 trillion infrastructure) significantly accelerates the pace toward potentially uncontrollable advanced AI. The restructuring to remove non-profit limitations explicitly enables faster scaling and capital raising for these ambitious timelines.
AGI Progress (+0.06%): OpenAI's chief scientist publicly stating superintelligence is "less than a decade away" with concrete intermediate milestones (2026, 2028) represents a major assertion of rapid progress toward AGI. The technical approach combining algorithmic innovation with massive test-time compute scaling, plus demonstrated success matching top human performance in mathematics competitions, suggests tangible advancement.
AGI Date (-2 days): The specific timeline placing autonomous AI researchers at 2028 and superintelligence within a decade, backed by $1.4 trillion in committed infrastructure spending, dramatically accelerates expected AGI arrival compared to previous estimates. The corporate restructuring to enable unlimited capital raising removes a key constraint that previously slowed progress.
Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla Proposes 10% Government Stake in Public Companies to Address AGI Economic Disruption
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, proposed at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 that the U.S. government should take a 10% stake in all public corporations to redistribute wealth as AGI transforms the economy. He argued this extreme measure is necessary to maintain social cohesion through AI-driven job displacement, predicting a "hugely deflationary economy" by 2035. Khosla acknowledged the controversial nature of the proposal but emphasized the need to share AI's abundance broadly across society.
Skynet Chance (0%): This proposal addresses economic distribution consequences of AGI rather than technical AI safety, control mechanisms, or alignment challenges that would directly impact loss of control scenarios. The focus is entirely on human socioeconomic adaptation to AI, not on preventing uncontrollable AI systems.
Skynet Date (+0 days): The proposal is a reactive economic policy framework for managing AGI's societal impact, not a technical development or capability advancement that would accelerate or decelerate the emergence of uncontrollable AI systems. It does not influence the pace of AI capability development itself.
AGI Progress (+0.02%): A prominent VC publicly discussing concrete AGI timeline predictions (2035 for massive economic transformation) and societal preparation signals growing consensus that AGI is approaching feasibility. This reflects increased confidence in the AI investment community about near-term AGI achievement, suggesting perceived progress toward that goal.
AGI Date (+0 days): Khosla's specific 2035 timeline for massive AI-driven economic deflation implies he sees AGI transformation occurring within approximately 10 years, which represents a relatively aggressive near-term timeline from a major industry figure. However, this is speculation about consequences rather than technical acceleration, so the impact on actual AGI development pace is minimal.
OpenAI Completes Controversial For-Profit Restructuring with Microsoft Stake at 27%
OpenAI has completed its recapitalization, transforming into a for-profit corporation controlled by a non-profit foundation, ending a complex legal process opposed by Elon Musk. The new structure grants the OpenAI Foundation 26% ownership, Microsoft 27% (valued at $135 billion), and remaining stakeholders 47%, while extending Microsoft's IP rights through 2032. The restructuring enables OpenAI to raise funding without legal restraint and includes provisions for independent verification if AGI is claimed.
Skynet Chance (+0.04%): The shift to for-profit prioritizes financial returns and rapid scaling over cautious development, potentially weakening safety guardrails despite the non-profit oversight structure. However, the inclusion of independent AGI verification requirements and foundation control provides some accountability mechanisms that partially offset increased risk.
Skynet Date (-1 days): The removal of equity restrictions and availability of $30 billion in funding will accelerate capability development and deployment timelines. The for-profit imperative creates stronger incentives for faster releases and competitive moves that could compress safety evaluation periods.
AGI Progress (+0.03%): The $30 billion SoftBank investment and unrestricted fundraising capability provide massive resources for compute, research, and talent acquisition necessary for AGI development. The for-profit structure removes previous financial constraints that may have limited the scale and ambition of research efforts.
AGI Date (-1 days): The substantial capital infusion and removal of non-profit restrictions will significantly accelerate research pace, compute scaling, and talent recruitment. The competitive for-profit structure creates stronger incentives to push AGI development faster to deliver returns to investors, particularly Microsoft.