AGI, which stands for "Artificial General Intelligence," is still a disputable form of AI. After all, no matter how smart a computer is, it's still a computer.
There is no way for something that runs on bits, bytes, or even qubits for that matter, can develop sentient in a way its blood and organs counterpart has.
But although a disputed term, AGI has been defined as an AI model that surpasses ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence), in which it can achieve complex human capabilities like common sense and consciousness.
OpenAI, which has been in the spotlight for quite some times, thanks to its products that include the world-famous ChatGPT, which kickstarted the generative AI arms race in the industry and sent rivals into frenzy.
But regardless of how smart those AIs are, they are still ANI, and that they're only good in doing what they're specialized for, and that they have extreme limitation into their abilities. These AI systems can only master specific tasks and lack the broad range of understanding and adaptability that AGI aims to achieve.
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Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is expecting AGI soon, and in an interview with The New Yorker, he compared his vision of AGI to an ordinary person:
Having surpassed the ANI's threshold, an AGI should be able to learn new things, solve problems, and make decisions at the same level as a human.
While AGI is still a theoretical concept, and that there is no consensus on how to create it, some researchers believe that it may be possible to develop AGI by using machine learning techniques to train AI systems on massive amounts of data.
And Altman's statement here, doesn't come coincidentally, because his company happens to be one of the frontrunners for achieving AGI, and as long as the regulations can help, he is ready for it.
By saying that AGI is an equivalent of a media humans, suggests that AGI should possess the ability to perform a wide range of tasks and exhibit intelligence similar to that of an average human being.
In other words, it would have the capacity to understand, learn, and adapt to various tasks and situations, just like a person with average cognitive abilities.
This is a significant milestone because it would mean that AGI would be able to perform many tasks that are currently only possible for humans.
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Comparing an AI with human intellect is like benchmarking the capabilities of generative AIs with media-level human performance.
This may sound a bit offensive, especially because there is no concrete measurable comparison of human intelligence. Furthermore, comparing AI with human intelligence at all can be ethically murky and potentially misleading.
But still, this is not the first time Altman has referred AI to a median human, Oher "tech bros" are also using the term "median human" when referring to AGIs.
This is because they're certain, and have high hopes about this AGI thing.
Altman was born a Jew, and has "an awkward childhood at best, to say it very politely."
Being at the front and center of the AI industry puts him under the spotlight for more than often.
"And I’m running one of a handful…top few dozen of the most important technology projects. I can’t imagine that this would have happened to me."