What I Read This Week…

OpenAI releases o1 and o1 pro mode, the FDA's 'generally recognized as safe' category creates oversight gaps, and scientists find that stimulating the hypothalamus may help spinal cord injury patients

Chamath Palihapitiya

Dec 09, 2024

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Caught My Eye…

OpenAI has released o1 and o1 pro mode, which both use the base o1 model's chain-of-thought reasoning to process responses. OpenAI has reported that o1 operates 50% faster than o1-preview, reduces major errors by 34% compared to o1-preview, and can analyze both text and images. While o1 pro mode takes longer to process responses than o1, it uses more compute power and can provide more reliable answers than o1 for highly demanding technical queries in fields like mathematics, chemistry, and programming. As a closed model, technical details about o1's training process and underlying architecture remain unpublished by OpenAI.
The 1958 "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) category created a gap in FDA oversight of food chemicals. The category was intended to exempt basic ingredients like vinegar and spices from full safety reviews. However, as food companies developed more artificial additives and faced long review times, they began using the GRAS category as a loophole by self-determining ingredient safety without FDA notification or review. Experts estimate that over 1,000 more chemicals are used without FDA knowledge. This affects food safety, as additives banned in the EU like Red 3 dye and potassium bromate are present in many U.S. foods. One example where this gap in oversight led to public health issues emerged in 2022 with tara flour, a protein powder ingredient used in meal replacement drinks and protein bars. Despite numerous reports of severe liver problems and hospitalizations, it took the FDA two years to conclude the ingredient was unsafe.
Scientists have found that stimulating the hypothalamus region of the brain can help people with spinal cord injuries walk again. When a person has a spinal cord injury, the connection between the brain and leg muscles is damaged, making it hard or impossible to walk. Research shows the hypothalamus, a brain region known for controlling emotions and motivation, plays a role in walking recovery. Deep brain stimulation sends electrical pulses to specific brain areas, activating hypothalamus neurons that help restore walking ability. The treatment creates new communication routes around the injury through a relay station in the brain stem. Tests with mice and rats showed stronger stimulation improved walking ability, while turning off the neurons reduced walking ability. The treatment was tested in two human patients with spinal cord injuries who needed help to walk, and both showed better walking performance without serious side effects. While the results of this treatment are promising, larger trials with more patients would be needed to further establish safety and efficacy before this treatment could be considered for FDA approval.