The next major evolution of ChatGPT, rumored to be GPT-5, has been a topic of speculation for some time. OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati recently shed light on its capabilities during an interview with Dartmouth Engineering, posted on X (formerly Twitter). She described the leap from GPT-4 to GPT-5 as a transition from high school to university.
Murati explained, “If you look at the trajectory of improvement, systems like GPT-3 were maybe toddler-level intelligence. And then systems like GPT-4 are more like smart high-schooler intelligence. And then, in the next couple of years, we’re looking at Ph.D. intelligence for specific tasks. Things are changing and improving pretty rapidly.”
During the interview, Murati confirmed that GPT-5 is expected to be released in a year and a half, suggesting a possible launch in late 2025 or early 2026. This timeline is later than initial rumors suggesting a late 2023 release and subsequent reports indicating a summer 2024 release, which turned out to be GPT-4o.
The claim about ‘Ph.D.-level’ intelligence aligns with previous statements about GPT-5. Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott has asserted that the next-generation AI systems will be capable of passing Ph.D. exams due to improved memory and reasoning abilities. However, Murati clarified that this ‘Ph.D.-level’ intelligence will only apply to certain tasks.
“These systems are already human-level in specific tasks, and, of course, in a lot of tasks, they’re not,” she said. Murati’s comments highlight the rapid advancements in AI technology and the potential of future systems to reach human-level intelligence in specific domains. While GPT-5 is not expected to arrive for another year and a half, anticipation continues to build for the next major milestone in the evolution of large language models.
