OpenAI Hits 'Automated Research Intern' Milestone, Targets Fully Automated AI Researcher by 2028
soumitrashukla9 · x · 2026-09-07
OpenAI says it has achieved its 'automated research intern' goal and now targets a fully automated AI researcher by March 2028. Internal numbers are striking: the research org now gets 3.1 agent-workdays per human workday; the median researcher burns $600+ daily on agent inference, with the top 10% at $7,000+; over half of successful 4-8 hour tasks still required human intervention; and agents are increasingly handling longer, more complex research tasks.
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