by Neel Mehta

There have been some major strides in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the past decade with software like the infamous ChatGPT gaining popularity. With all the attention currently surrounding the field, almost everyone is familiar with what AI is. However, a term which not many people are familiar with is AGI or Artificial General Intelligence. AGI is a type of AI, which can, theoretically, do almost any and all tasks, while AI models today can only do the specific tasks they are built for. It is considered the ultimate goal of AI research. However, it is a futuristic technology and not currently a reality.

If it were developed, AGI would be able to understand and learn any intellectual task that a human being could, and would experience the world similarly to humans, given its ability to process visual and auditory information. In addition, AGI would be able to understand human languages and therefore communicate with us.

Theoretically, AGI would possess highly advanced abilities, including the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, understand complex concepts, learn quickly, and learn from experience (improving its performance over time). It would be able to analyse large amounts of data and make predictions and recommendations that would be impossible for a human to make. With such a wide range of capabilities, AGI has the potential to revolutionize many industries, such as healthcare, finance, transportation, and manufacturing. It could also automate various tasks, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.  

Despites its various benefits, AGI could also pose a great risk to society. Some experts in the field have expressed their concerns regarding the fact that AGI could be used for malicious purposes, such as creating autonomous weapons or invading privacy, in various research papers (a link with a summary of some of these is below). Furthermore, there is also the possibility that AGI could surpass human intelligence in every way (including emotional intelligence), making certain jobs obsolete, which would lead to social upheaval. 

In conclusion, AGI, if ever created, would be the pinnacle of AI – but it would still have various risks. Therefore, the goal should be to continue to advance AGI research while making sure that it is developed (with extensive international oversight/regulation) in a way that is not only beneficial, but also safe for humanity.

Bibliography and Further Reading:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0952813X.2021.1964003