🤖 OpenAI launches first autonomous agent

Also: Perplexity launches an assistant for Android

Author

Evolving AI
January 24, 2025

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts

Agent, agents, agents. We’re already hearing a lot about them, and we’re going to hear even more. OpenAI and Perplexity have both launched their own versions of AI agents, and Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, says superintelligence could arrive as soon as 2027. This is a major shift, as he was always believed to have longer timelines than everyone else. However, recent developments in the industry have led him to revise that view. Let’s dive in!

In today’s insights:

  • OpenAI launches Operator, an AI agent that performs tasks autonomously

  • Perplexity launches an assistant for Android

  • Anthropic CEO predicts AI could surpass humans by 2027

Read time: 4 minutes

🗞️ LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Source: OpenAI

Evolving AI: OpenAI’s Operator brings autonomous website navigation to AI assistant to ChatGPT.

Key Points:

  • Operator handles tasks like filling forms and online shopping autonomously, using GPT-4o’s vision capabilities.

  • Powered by the Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model, it processes screen data to interact with websites in real-time.

  • Includes a multi-layer safety system for user permissions, monitoring, and malicious site detection.

Details:

OpenAI has launched Operator, an AI assistant designed to independently navigate websites and complete tasks like filling forms or ordering groceries. Exclusively for US-based Pro subscribers, it uses GPT-4o’s vision and reasoning capabilities to analyze screenshots and interact with web pages without special integrations. The system operates through three stages: capturing screen content, reasoning through tasks, and executing actions like clicking or typing. Built on the Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model, Operator also allows users to customize tasks with saved instructions for efficiency. Security features include requiring user permission for sensitive actions, “watch mode” for monitoring activities, and a system to detect malicious sites. Currently, Operator outperforms benchmarks like WebVoyager but struggles with complex interfaces. OpenAI plans to expand availability to more users and release an API version.

Why It Matters:

The era of AI agents is now truly upon us. OpenAI staff acknowledged that, like ChatGPT and other chatbots, Operator is still an experimental technology. But they said it would continue to improve in the coming months. “This is not the most robust thing in the world,” they said. “But it is way better than this kind of technology used to be.”

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Evolving AI: Perplexity brings its Assistant to Android to help with daily tasks using reasoning, search, and apps.

Key Points:

  • Perplexity Assistant is now on Android and can handle tasks like booking rides or adding events to calendars.

  • It uses web access and your phone’s camera for smarter, context-aware responses.

  • The Assistant supports 15 languages and is free to use for now.

Details:

Perplexity’s Assistant for Android is designed to make life easier. It can perform multiple actions in one go, like finding a restaurant, booking a table, and adding it to your calendar. With web access, it helps with tasks like checking schedules or setting reminders. The Assistant also uses your phone’s camera to answer questions about what’s around you or on your screen. While promising, some features might not work perfectly yet. For now, users can try it free in languages like English, Spanish, and Hindi.

Why It Matters:

The market is already being saturated with AI agents from the various leading companies. Anthropic kicked off the agentic race in November when it debuted its Computer Use API, which enables Claude to emulate human mouse and keyboard actions to control the local computing system. Microsoft announced Copilot Actions the same month and began rolling the agents out to business and enterprise subscribers in January. Nvidia followed suit at CES 2025 when it revealed its new Nemotron family of LLMs, and OpenAI finally unveiled its AI agent, Operator, as a “research preview” just a few hours ago.

Evolving AI: Anthropic’s Dario Amodei predicts AI models may outperform humans in nearly all tasks by 2027.

Key Points:

  • Dario Amodei predicts AI models surpassing human capabilities within 2-3 years.

  • Advanced AI systems could enable robots to replace human labor entirely.

  • Anthropic’s funding has soared, with support from Amazon and Google.

Details:

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei shared bold predictions during an interview at the World Economic Forum. He stated that AI models could outperform humans in almost every area as early as 2027, sparking discussions on economic and societal impacts. Amodei emphasized that advanced AI systems could lead to robotics capable of replacing human labor, requiring a rethinking of economic systems and human purpose. He criticized the term "artificial general intelligence," preferring "a country of geniuses in a data center" to describe future AI. Anthropic recently gained $1 billion in funding from Google, following Amazon’s $8 billion investment.

Why It Matters:

AI is often seen as chatbots or voice assistants that respond to questions and commands. But it’s already making an impact in areas like robotics, medicine, and science. Anthropic’s Amodei believes AI could soon surpass human abilities. While this is a major breakthrough, it also comes with risks for society.

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