Roundup: So what's up with AGI?

Artificial General Intelligence is a fairly controversial topic to say the least...

Image credit: Image Creator from Microsoft Designer/DALL.E and Canva

Artificial General Intelligence (often referred to as simply AGI) is a popular topic these days.

In a nutshell, an artificial general intelligence represents a theoretical form of intelligent agent. If realized, AGI would possess the capacity to learn and master any cognitive task achievable by humans.

There is no consensus as to when AGI will happen or if it is even desirable.

Here is a list of articles I found compelling on the subject:

The head of AI at Meta doesn't believe that AI superintelligence will arrive in the near future (link)

Yann LeCun, Meta's chief scientist and a pioneer in deep learning, expressed his belief that it will take decades for current AI systems to achieve any form of sentience or acquire common sense that could elevate their capabilities beyond creatively summarizing extensive texts (via CNBC).

According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the attainment of artificial general intelligence is expected within a span of five years (link)

Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, a pivotal player in the AI revolution, anticipates the potential emergence of artificial general intelligence within the coming five years. "Software can't be written without AI, chips can't be designed without AI, nothing's possible," he concluded on the point of AI's potential (via Business Insider).

What exactly is Project Q*, the potentially groundbreaking AI development by OpenAI? (link)

Project Q* is a new model that demonstrated exceptional capabilities in learning and executing mathematical tasks. While reportedly confined to solving elementary-level math problems, it showed promise as an initial step in showcasing an intelligence previously unobserved by the involved researchers (via Digital Trends).

AGI is “already here” (link)

The current flaws in today's most advanced AI models could be overshadowed by their eventual recognition, decades from now, as the initial true instances of artificial general intelligence (via Noema).

Early trials with GPT-4: Igniting the emergence of AGI (link)

A group of researchers believe GPT-4 adeptly tackles challenging, diverse tasks across various fields—mathematics, coding, vision, medicine, law, psychology, and beyond—without requiring specific instructions. They believe its performance in these areas remarkably mirrors human-level capabilities (via arXiv).

AGI “will not be realized” (link)

Post-WWII, AI emerged from the discovery that computers handle symbols, leading to weak AI (less ambitious) and strong AI (aiming for human-like intelligence). AGI, aspiring for human generality, faces skepticism from critics like philosopher Hubert Dreyfus, questioning AI's grasp of human experiences. Despite AI advancements, reaching AGI seems distant, suggesting it might be inherently unattainable, resonating with Dreyfus' view of computers being disconnected from the world (via Humanities and Social Sciences Communications).