Why in news?

Recently, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed his commitment to invest billions of dollars towards the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

What’s in today’s article?

• Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
• Difference between AGI and AI
• Skepticism regarding AGI

What is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)?

• About
  • AGI refers to a machine or a software that can perform any intellectual task that a human can do.
  • This includes reasoning, common sense, abstract thinking, background knowledge, transfer learning, ability to differentiate between cause and effect, etc.
  • In simple words, AGI aims to emulate human cognitive abilities such that it allows it to do unfamiliar tasks, learn from new experiences, and apply its knowledge in new ways.
• Significance
  • AGI has innumerable positive implications.
  • For instance, in healthcare, it can redefine diagnostics, treatment planning, and personalised medicine by integrating and analysing vast datasets, far beyond the capabilities of humans.
  • In finance and business, AGI could automate various processes and enhance the overall decision-making, offering real-time analytics and market predictions with accuracy.
  • When it comes to education, AGI could transform adaptive learning systems that work towards the unique needs of students.
  • This could potentially democratise access to personalised education worldwide.

How is AGI different from AI we already use?

• Scope and capabilities
  • The main difference between AGI and the more common form of AI, also known as narrow AI, lies in their scope and capabilities.
  • Narrow AI is designed to perform specific tasks such as image recognition, translation, or even playing games like chess—at which it can outdo humans, but it remains limited to its set parameters.
  • On the other hand, AGI envisions a broader, more generalised form of intelligence, not confined to any particular task (like humans).
• AGI at the summit of all developments in artificial intelligence
  • Humans learn through their experiences — in school, home, or elsewhere; by talking to people or observing things; by reading books, etc.
  • The human brain then uses the information it has gathered to make decisions (often subconscious) that solve any given problem, or come up with a new one.
  • With AGI, researchers aim to build a software or computer that can do all this — everything that a human computer does.
  • Hence, experts put AGI at the summit of all developments in artificial intelligence.

Skepticism regarding AGI

• Impact on environment
  • The humongous amount of computational power required to develop AGI systems raises concerns about its impact on the environment, both due to the energy consumption and generation of e-waste.
• Division in society
  • AGI could also lead to a significant loss of employment, and widespread socio-economic disparity, where power would be concentrated in the hands of those who control the AGI.
• New security vulnerabilities
  • It could introduce new security vulnerabilities, the kind we have not even thought about yet.
  • Its development could outrun the ability of governments and international bodies to come up with suitable regulations.
• Impact on human capabilities and skills
  • If humans were to become dependent on AGI, it might even lead to the loss of basic human skills and capabilities.
• AGI can outpace human being
  • Its abilities can outpace human beings’, making its actions difficult to understand and predict.
  • This might even lead to a situation where it becomes too independent, so much so that humans simply lose control.