GPT-o3 recently achieved a 2700 rating in OpenAI's Codeforces test, which means fewer than 200 active users worldwide have a higher rating (less than a single page on the CF leaderboard).
I used to feel unbothered by this because there were many people with ratings higher than GPT. Back then, my rating was also higher. I knew it would surpass me eventually, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly—just about a year. Now, I feel slightly panicked: the only advantage I have over GPT is that I'm cheaper (I heard o3 costs a lot to solve a problem, while I can solve them for free, lol). I genuinely enjoy solving problems, but that doesn't stop me from feeling anxious. While I know my passion will keep me engaged in competitive programming, I still want to seek support.
I recalled that Um_nik once wrote a blog titled On AI ruining "solving math problems with computer", which expressed his views on AI. I wonder if he anticipated AI advancing this quickly. Back then, I thought the article made sense, but now, replacing the "1600" in it with "2700" and "Div2A/B" with "Div1C/D" feels really strange and unsettling.
As described in that article, the CF community now has people "running around yelling 'We will all die, somebody do something about AI.'" again. I used to think this was just unnecessary panic, but now I feel it's somewhat justified. I might soon become one of them!
These are my current thoughts: mild panic and anxiety. Many users with similar ratings to mine have expressed their own feelings. Kozliklekarsky's comment perfectly captures my sentiments: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
I also have some thoughts about the future. Currently, o3 is prohibitively expensive. If its price drops in the future, people will undoubtedly start using it for competitive programming. (Don't tell me “o3's price will never drop”—it already achieved a 2700 rating, so I can't bring myself to believe it's impossible.)
This has both good and bad implications. On the bright side, GPT's level surpasses mine, which means I can use it as a resource to learn and improve. On the downside, it also means I could use GPT to cheat on CF and achieve a rating higher than my actual skill level. Sure, such a rating would be fake, but we're talking about a top 200 global ranking! Ordinary people have vanity. If I could achieve this ranking, I'd be laughing in my dreams. For an 1800 rating, I believe 85% of people could resist the temptation to cheat. But for a 2700 rating—my dream rating—how many could truly resist?
The influx of high-level accounts would also greatly impact the mindset of top competitors. Moreover, it feels like there's no way to prevent this from happening. For instance, if I asked GPT, “How do I solve this problem?” and then learned its approach and wrote the code myself, how could anyone prove it was AI-assisted? I admit this leans towards conspiracy thinking, but I can't help pondering it.
What are your thoughts on AI's current rating in competitive programming?
