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What is artificial general intelligence?
Tech circles can’t really agree on what constitutes “artificial general intelligence,” or AGI. Generally speaking, it’s an AI that can learn to accomplish tasks at the same level as a human, but there’s debate on what exactly “human level” means. It could be a computer that can reason, plan, and learn to do things like make coffee or build IKEA furniture with little instruction. It could be one that has “senses” and can change behaviour because of what it “sees” or “hears.”
How is that different from other AI?
AI is the umbrella term for machines using any level of reasoning to reach a goal, even if it’s with a simple “if x happens, then do y” program. That could be ChatGPT, the TikTok algorithm, or video game characters. AGI would be an advanced form of that, closer to the sci-fi version of AI you might have thought of before it became a buzzword (though not quite reaching full sentience).
How long will it take to achieve this?
No one is really certain. Shane Legg, who co-founded Google’s DeepMind, puts the odds at 50-50 of reaching it by 2028. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave a much less concrete “reasonably close-ish future” during a talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Others in the field say it could take decades, centuries, or might not ever be achieved. One thing people do agree on is that we’re not there yet — even today’s most advanced models are “emerging” forms that might lay the groundwork for actual AGI one day.
Should I be worried?
That depends on what keeps you up at night. If you’re worried about a computer gaining sentience and destroying the world, we are nowhere close to that, and companies like OpenAI, DeepMind, and Anthropic frequently tell people they are pursuing AGI responsibly to avoid these consequences.
But when we talk about a system that can meet or exceed human capabilities, the concern is obviously jobs, with DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman saying that AI is “fundamentally” meant to replace labour. Altman said at Davos that AGI will change jobs much less than we all think, despite a quarter of CEOs claiming they are going to reduce headcounts this year thanks to AI.