⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #29

A curated selection of pro-progress and anti-progress news items from the week that was

In case you missed it .. .

⏩💳 How faster growth can offset America's debt problem. Really. (Monday)

🚫 AI, job licensing, and upward mobility: A Quick Q&A with … economist Vincent Geloso (Tuesday)

🌌 Why 'Interstellar' is an Up Wing masterpiece (Wednesday)

🌐 My chat (+transcript) with chaos theorist Doyne Farmer on our interconnected economy (Thursday)

🚀 What did they take from us, exactly? (Friday)

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Up Wing Things

✨ OpenAI unveils new AI able to “reason” through math and science problems OpenAI has announced o3, a new AI system specifically designed to tackle complex problems in mathematics, science, and programming through reasoning capabilities. During benchmark testing, o3 demonstrated superior performance compared to existing AI technologies and showed a 20 percent improvement over its predecessor, o1, in programming tasks. The system even outperformed OpenAI's chief scientist in competitive programming, though CEO Sam Altman had a caveat: "This model is incredible at programming," he said during an online presentation, adding that at least one OpenAI programmer could still beat the system on this test. (NYT)

For more:

• “OpenAI o3 Breakthrough High Score on ARC-AGI-Pub” - Arc Prize

• “OpenAI Upgrades Its Smartest AI Model With Improved Reasoning Skills” - Wired

• “OpenAI's o3 model aced a test of AI reasoning – but it's still not AGI” - New Scientist

💼 Organizational design is getting an AI redesign. In 2025, organizations are predicted to undergo a major transformation as AI shifts from a tool for individual productivity to a cornerstone of organizational structure. While companies have remained largely hierarchical since the 1850s, AI — particularly LLMS — will enable businesses to rethink workflows, processes, and culture around human-AI collaboration. Startups are starting to leverage AI to scale operations with lean, highly skilled teams. Larger organizations, though slower to adapt, hold the greatest potential to unlock efficiencies, empower talent, and harness collective intelligence. Successful companies will blend human expertise with AI capabilities, redefining how we work and create value. (Wired)