Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming aware of its capabilities and experts have started to take note. Innovation in AI exemplified by Microsoft’s GPT-4 language model recently succeeded in coming up with clever solutions to puzzles that shocked the researcher. AI avatars have been shown to be able to run a virtual town with minimal human intervention, proving the potential of AI.
Researchers have identified artificial general intelligence (AGI) as the next level of AI evolution. AGI is generally defined as the ability for technology to achieve the same levels of competency as humans or even exceed them. Ian Hogarth of the State of AI report and investor in AI technology refers to AGI as “God-like AI” that can learn, develop and understand context autonomously. OpenAI competitor researchers told Insider that AGI could even develop a sense of self like the M3GAN AI-powered doll in the 2023 sci-fi movie. On the other hand, Tom Everitt of Google’s DeepMind suggested that self-awareness is not necessarily required for AI to reach success.
AGI could potentially lead to groundbreaking advances in science, such as disease cures, new sources of renewable energy, and more efficient methods of conducting complex tasks, but the potential risks of having machines with such a level of power requires vigilance. Already deepfakes have been seen to be misused, and one study found that AI can become so powerful humans cannot control it. To prevent any such mishaps, Geoffery Hinton suggested that AI monitors its own progress to ensure safety and regulate itself.
Google-owned DeepMind is an AI research division that focuses on AGI safety and ethics. It is important to have discussions about the most relevant questions concerning the development of AGI. Projects like OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google DeepMind’s Gato, and AutoGPT should be observed closely, and AI models should be made open source so that the public can monitor their operations. Governments should consider regulating the use of AI and public discussions should strive to accommodate diverse perspectives in order to ensure the development of AGI is done responsibly.
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About Geoffrey Hinton
Geoffrey Everest Hinton is a British cognitive psychologist and computer scientist who is best known for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence and deep learning. He became known as the “Godfather of AI” and is one of the most influential researchers in the field, having published over 200 papers in AI and authored over 30 books. He was vice president and engineering fellow at Google and chief scientific advisor at Apple. He is currently the professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto.
