OpenAI introduces o1-mini, a cost-efficient reasoning model with a focus on STEM subjects. The model demonstrates impressive performance in math and coding, closely resembling its predecessor, OpenAI o1, on various evaluation benchmarks. OpenAI anticipates that o1-mini will serve as a swift and economical solution for applications demanding reasoning capabilities without extensive global knowledge.The launch of o1-mini is targeted at Tier 5 API users, offering an 80% cost reduction compared to OpenAI o1-preview. Let’s have a deeper look at the working of o1 Mini. 

o1-mini vs Other LLMs

LLMs are usually pre-trained on large text datasets. But here’s the catch; while they have this vast knowledge, it can sometimes be a bit of a burden. You see, all this information makes them a bit slow and expensive to use in real-world scenarios. 

What sets apart o1-mini from other LLMs is the fact that its trained for STEM. This specialized training makes o1-mini an expert in STEM-related tasks. The model is efficient and cost-effective, perfect for STEM applications. Its performance is impressive, especially in math and coding. O1-mini is optimized for speed and accuracy in STEM reasoning. It’s a valuable tool for researchers and educators. 

o1-mini excels in intelligence and reasoning benchmarks, outperforming o1-preview and o1, but struggles with non-STEM factual knowledge tasks.

Also Read: o1: OpenAI’s New Model That ‘Thinks’ Before Answering Tough Problems

GPT 4o vs o1 vs o1-mini 

The comparison of responses on a word reasoning question highlights the performance disparity. While GPT-4o struggled, o1-mini and o1-preview excelled, providing accurate answers. Notably, o1-mini’s speed was remarkable, answering approximately 3-5 times faster.

How to Use o1-mini?

• ChatGPT Plus and Team Users: Access o1-mini from the model picker today, with weekly limits 50 messages.
• ChatGPT Enterprise and Education Users: Access to both models begins next week.
• Developers: API tier 5 users can experiment with these models today, but features like function calling and streaming aren’t available yet.
• ChatGPT Free Users: o1-mini will soon be available to all free users.

o1-mini’s Stellar Performance: Math, Coding, and Beyond

The OpenAI o1-mini model has been put to the test in various competitions and benchmarks, and its performance is quite impressive. Let’s look at different components one by one: 

Math

In the high school AIME math competition, o1-mini scored 70.0%, which is on par with the more expensive o1 model (74.4%) and significantly better than o1-preview (44.6%). This score places o1-mini among the top 500 US high school students, a remarkable achievement.

Coding

Moving on to coding, o1-mini shines on the Codeforces competition website, achieving an Elo score of 1650. This score is competitive with o1 (1673) and surpasses o1-preview (1258). This places o1-mini in the 86th percentile of programmers who compete on the Codeforces platform. Additionally, o1-mini performs well on the HumanEval coding benchmark and high-school-level cybersecurity capture-the-flag challenges (CTFs), further solidifying its coding prowess.

STEM

o1-mini has proven its mettle in various academic benchmarks that require strong reasoning skills. In benchmarks like GPQA (science) and MATH-500, o1-mini outperformed GPT-4o, showcasing its excellence in STEM-related tasks. However, when it comes to tasks that require a broader range of knowledge, such as MMLU, o1-mini may not perform as well as GPT-4o. This is because o1-mini is optimized for STEM reasoning and may lack the extensive world knowledge that GPT-4o possesses.

Human Preference Evaluation

Human raters actively compared o1-mini’s performance against GPT-4o on challenging prompts across various domains. The results showed a preference for o1-mini in reasoning-heavy domains, but GPT-4o took the lead in language-focused areas, highlighting the models’ strengths in different contexts.

Safety Component in o1-mini 

The safety and alignment of the o1-mini model are of utmost importance to ensure its responsible and ethical use. Here’s an explanation of the safety measures implemented:

• Training Techniques: o1-mini’s training approach mirrors that of its predecessor, o1-preview, focusing on alignment and safety. This strategy ensures the model’s outputs align with human values and mitigate potential risks, a crucial aspect of its development.
• Jailbreak Robustness: One of the key safety features of o1-mini is its enhanced jailbreak robustness. On an internal version of the StrongREJECT dataset, o1-mini demonstrates a 59% higher jailbreak robustness compared to GPT-4o. Jailbreak robustness refers to the model’s ability to resist attempts to manipulate or misuse its outputs, ensuring that it remains aligned with its intended purpose.
• Safety Assessments: Before deploying o1-mini, a thorough safety assessment was conducted. This assessment followed the same approach used for o1-preview, which included preparedness measures, external red-teaming, and comprehensive safety evaluations. External red-teaming involves engaging independent experts to identify potential vulnerabilities and security risks.
• Detailed Results: The results of these safety evaluations are published in the accompanying system card. This transparency allows users and researchers to understand the model’s safety measures and make informed decisions about its usage. The system card provides insights into the model’s performance, limitations, and potential risks, ensuring responsible deployment and usage.

End Note

OpenAI’s o1-mini is a game-changer for STEM applications, offering cost-efficiency and impressive performance. Its specialized training enhances reasoning abilities, particularly in math and coding. With robust safety measures, o1-mini excels in STEM benchmarks, providing a reliable and transparent tool for researchers and educators.

Stay tuned to Analytics Vidhya blog to know more about the uses of o1 mini!

Hello, I am Nitika, a tech-savvy Content Creator and Marketer. Creativity and learning new things come naturally to me. I have expertise in creating result-driven content strategies. I am well versed in SEO Management, Keyword Operations, Web Content Writing, Communication, Content Strategy, Editing, and Writing.