The Transformative Potential of AGI — and When It Might Arrive | Shane Legg and Chris Anderson | TED



AI Summary

  • Early Interest in AI
    • First computer at age 10, pre-internet era
    • Began programming and creating virtual worlds
    • Spark of creativity led to interest in AI
  • Educational Challenges
    • Dyslexic, nearly held back in school
    • High IQ discovered during assessment
    • Early skepticism of authority and interest in intelligence
  • Coined “artificial-general-intelligence” (AGI)
    • Term suggested to Ben Goertzel in 2001 for a book title
    • Term popularized online, though Mike Garrod first used it in 1997
  • Prediction of AGI
    • Influenced by Ray Kurzweil’s book
    • Predicted exponential growth in computation and data
    • Predicted AGI by 2028 with a 50% chance
  • Definition of AGI
    • Initially, a vague concept of general systems
    • Now defined as systems capable of all cognitive tasks humans can do
  • Founding of DeepMind
    • Met Demis Hassabis at Gatsby Unit in London
    • Founded DeepMind with the goal of creating AGI
    • Aware of both positive and negative potential outcomes
  • DeepMind’s Progress
    • Milestones: Atari games, AlphaGo, language models
    • Surprised by the capabilities of text-based models
  • Concerns and Hopes for AGI
    • Believes powerful AI is coming, but timing uncertain
    • Potential for rapid scientific advancements
    • Acknowledges risks and need for ethical considerations
  • Regulation and Understanding of AI
    • Advocates for regulation of powerful technologies
    • Emphasizes the need for more scientific understanding of AI
    • Hopes for ethical and safe AI to usher in a new golden age for humanity