🦾 Axios PM: ChatGPT's new flex

Plus: First non-astronaut moonwalk | Thursday, September 12, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Sep 12, 2024 Good Thursday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 585 words, a 2-min read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing. ⚡️ ️Axios Twin Cities' Torey Van Oot, who has covered Tim Walz since he became governor of Minnesota, is hosting a Reddit AMA about the VP nominee tomorrow at noon ET. Join her here!     1 big thing: ChatGPT's big leap forward   Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   OpenAI's new model is capable of complex reasoning, working through problems more like a human would, Axios' Ina Fried reports. The new tool, called o1, is better at complex math, science and coding questions than previous iterations, and it will also do a better job explaining how it reaches its conclusions, the company said. 🧠 How it works: OpenAI trained o1 — which had been code named "Strawberry" before its launch — through a lengthy process of trial-and-error problem-solving, The New York Times explains. Ultimately, the goal is to create systems that work through problems one step at a time, with each step informing the next one. That type of reasoning should reduce errors and help AI perform more complex tasks. "The model sharpens its thinking and fine tunes the strategies that it uses to get to the answer," Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, told Wired. ⌨️ What's next: Some paid ChatGPT subscribers will have access to o1 beginning today, and OpenAI also plans to sell a lightweight version specifically to help people write code.     2. 🍿 New life for movie theaters   Data: Box Office Mojo. Chart: Axios Visuals The future is looking a little brighter for movie theaters, Axios media reporter Tim Baysinger reports. The pandemic, competition from streaming and the lack of consistent new movies wreaked financial havoc on many of the major theater chains, raising doubts about whether they could survive. 🎬 But a stronger-than-expected end to the summer movie season has given rise to some cautious optimism. "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated movie ever. "Deadpool & Wolverine" became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. A handful of others — including "Twisters," "Longlegs" and "It Ends With Us" — also performed better than expected. 🎞️ Theater chains are also on better financial footing. Cinemark, the third-biggest U.S. theater chain, has seen its stock more than double this year. Reality check: The box office still trails last year by almost 14%, and it's an open question if it can ever get back to the $10-billion-a-year industry it was before the COVID shutdowns. Go deeper.     3. Catch me up   New York Mayor Eric Adams announces the resignation of New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban today in a video. Photo: Office of the Mayor of New York/AP 🚓 New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned amid multiple federal investigations into Mayor Eric Adams and high-ranking members of his administration. Investigators raided Caban's home last week. Go deeper. 🎤 Former President Trump said this afternoon on his Truth Social account: "THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" Go deeper. ⚖️ A North Dakota judge struck down the state's abortion ban, saying it violated the state constitution. Go deeper. 🇻🇳 The N.Y. Times announced a new bureau in Vietnam, "marking a return to a full-time, on-the-ground presence for the first time since 1975." Bureau chief Damien Cave, based in Ho Chi Minh City, "will explore the economy, culture and challenges of a vibrant, rapidly developing country." Go deeper.     4. 🚀 1 for the road   Image from video: SpaceX/AP Billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman completed the world's first commercial spacewalk today. The spacewalk was more constrained than the ones professional astronauts do. Isaacman was outside for about 10 minutes, and he was closely tethered to the SpaceX capsule that carried the mission. 🌎 "Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world," he said as he orbited about 460 miles above Earth.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: