November 22 2023: Reuters reported that days before Sam Altman was ousted from OpenAI (then reinstated), several staff researchers wrote to the board warning of a 'powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity' — internally codenamed Q* (Q-Star). The capability described: solving grade-school math problems by reasoning autonomously rather than pattern-matching. The Information and The Verge followed with additional details about a separate project codenamed 'Strawberry.' OpenAI never publicly confirmed Q* existed as described, but the o1-preview model released September 2024 was widely speculated to be the descendant. The leak remains one of the most mythologized moments in AI development history — the 'breakthrough too dangerous to ship.'