Recently, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman published a thought-provoking article on his personal blog, stating that the company has mastered the core technologies for building Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and plans to shift its focus towards "superintelligence." In the article, Altman emphasized that tools of superintelligence will significantly enhance the speed of scientific discovery and innovation, surpassing current human capabilities and thereby promoting societal wealth and prosperity.
He pointed out that AGI is a complex and vague concept, but OpenAI has its own interpretation, believing that AGI is "a highly autonomous system that surpasses human capabilities in most economically valuable work." Meanwhile, OpenAI and its significant investor Microsoft also have a specific definition of AGI, which is an AI system capable of generating at least $100 billion in profit. This standard is outlined in the agreement between the two companies, and once OpenAI reaches this target, Microsoft will lose access to its technology.
Although Altman did not explicitly state which definition of AGI he was referring to in his article, his wording seems to lean towards the former. He mentioned that future AI systems might "join the workforce" and could "substantially change company outputs" in the short term. He firmly believes that by gradually placing excellent tools in people's hands, a wide range of positive effects can be generated.
Nevertheless, Altman also acknowledged that current AI technology still has many technical limitations, such as the phenomenon of "hallucinations" and common errors, which pose barriers to AI applications. Additionally, the operational costs of AI remain relatively high. Despite this, he is confident in swiftly overcoming these challenges. Altman noted that the experiences of AI development over the past few years have shown that the timelines for technology can change.
He concluded by saying: "We are confident about the future and believe that in the coming years, more people will see what we see and recognize the necessity of being cautious between maximizing universal benefits and empowerment." He believes that OpenAI's mission prevents it from becoming an ordinary company, and he feels fortunate and humbled to be part of this important work.
Key Points:
🌟 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the company has mastered the technology to build AGI and is shifting its focus towards superintelligence.
🔍 AGI is defined as a highly autonomous system that economically surpasses humans, with a clear agreement in place between OpenAI and Microsoft.
🚀 Despite current technological limitations, Altman is confident about future developments, believing that timelines will change with technological advancements.
