Artificial General Intelligence
Humanity’s last invention
Imagine machines that can learn and adapt as humans do, a machine that could helps us solve complex problems, a machine that creates breathtaking art. Welcome to the world we live in. Picture a fictional robot named designed with general intelligence. This robot learns to paint like Picasso, compose music like Mozart, and solve mathematical equations like Einstein. As a tireless learner, it can assist doctors in diagnosing diseases, develop climate change solutions, and even manage space missions. The possibilities are endless, but this captivating future also comes with ethical dilemmas, ones important to humanity’s future.
AI not so long ago, was just narrow intelligence. These were AIs that memorized problems or learned simple heuristics that help it achieve intelligence in a narrow domain. For example, IBM's Deep Blue chess program, Google's AlphaGo, and even self-driving cars. They lacked the ability to generalize and adapt beyond their narrow pre-defined goal.
For almost the entirety of recent history, this was the chasm that differentiated human intelligence from their machine counterparts in silicon. For example, we humans were not crafted or intended by evolution to read, learn math, build cities, land on the moon, or build machines more intelligent than us. Consider anything you do at your job that requires a semblance of intelligence, did evolution intend for you to be able to do that? No because your job didn’t exist long enough for evolutionary pressures to kick in. We are general learners. We are good at learning how to learn allowing us to adapt. Evolution decided that gifting us general intelligence was a much better way of surviving and reproducing that just simple ingrained heuristics. This remained a once illusive goal for AI.
In the world we inhabit today, artificial intelligence has progressed beyond the limitations of narrow intelligence. Not quite general intelligence, but sparks of general intelligence. Generative AI represents the next frontier of artificial intelligence, expanding the boundaries of what machines can accomplish. From collaborating with scientists in groundbreaking research to assisting in disaster relief efforts, it is a testament to the potential of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to revolutionize our world for the better.
However, as we pursue the development of Artificial General Intelligence, we must also confront the ethical dilemmas that accompany such technology. Displacement of jobs due to automation, is a pressing concern that requires the careful examination of our socioeconomic systems. However, a far more devasting risk is that of misaligned or rogue AI, intentional or not, whose objectives do not align with humanity’s. We must find a way to teach and transfer our values to AI, a challenging task given that we ourselves cannot agree on what our values are.
AGI promises a future brimming with potential, but it is incumbent upon us to navigate the risks with extreme caution. By prioritizing safety and alignment, we can unlock a world where artificial intelligence positively impacts our lives, helping us to reach our full potential as a society. The journey has just begun, and with a thoughtful and conscientious approach, we can ensure AGI serves as a force for good as our last collective invention.
Written by a human and AI team.
