Why in News? Recently, Sam Altman (OpenAI’s CEO) expressed his commitment to invest towards Artificial General Intelligence’s (AGI) development.

What is AGI? AGI is a machine that aims to emulate human cognitive abilities to perform any intellectual task that a human can do like reasoning, common sense, abstract thinking, background knowledge etc.

Difference between AGI and AI Being Used (Narrow AI)-Scope of Narrow AI remains limited to set parameters as it can perform only specific tasks like image recognition, translation, playing games etc. But AGI envisions a broader, more generalized form of intelligence, not confined to any particular task(like humans).

Is this a New Idea? No, it was first introduced by Alan Turing (Father of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence) in1950 in his paper ‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’ where he introduced Turing test, a benchmark for machine intelligence according to which if a machine (without being detected) engages in a conversation with humans, it has human intelligence.

Benefits-It will add productivity and economic value through its unprecedented problem-solving capabilities and creative expression like in healthcare, it can redefine diagnostics, treatment planning, and personalized medicine by integrating and analyzing vast datasets. In businesses, it could automate various processes and enhance overall decision-making, offering real-time analytics and market predictions with accuracy.

Concerns-AGI can:

1. Affect environment by high energy consumption and generating e-waste.
2. lead to employment loss and widespread socio-economic disparity, where power would be concentrated with ones controlling AGI.
3. introduce new security vulnerabilities.
4. outrun the ability of governments and international bodies to introduce suitable regulations.
5. lead to loss of basic human skills and capabilities due to dependence on AGI.
6. outpace human beings and act against them if humans lose its control.