OpenAI's Sam Altman Confident in Building AGI

In a recent blog post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed confidence in the company's ability to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a long-sought goal in the tech industry. Altman stated, "We know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it." He anticipates that AI agents capable of autonomously performing tasks could have a significant impact on companies as early as this year.

Altman outlined OpenAI's future goal of achieving "superintelligence," which he believes could revolutionise scientific discovery and innovation, leading to increased abundance and prosperity. The concept of superintelligence involves AI systems surpassing human intelligence, aligning with OpenAI's mission to create AGI for the benefit of humanity.

While OpenAI had previously described AGI as systems smarter than humans, Altman recently tempered expectations, suggesting that AGI may not be as impactful as initially thought. This shift in perspective could be strategic, especially considering OpenAI's ties to Microsoft through exclusivity agreements until AGI is officially achieved.

Despite plans to potentially accelerate progress towards AGI by combining language models, OpenAI is currently operating at a loss, with Altman revealing that the ChatGPT Pro subscriptions priced at $200 per month are not generating profits as expected.

Altman also reflected on past challenges, including his departure and subsequent return to OpenAI, emphasising the importance of governance and credibility within the organisation. OpenAI is poised to transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity under Altman's leadership, aiming to establish a robust governance structure to ensure that AGI benefits humanity.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expresses confidence in building AGI
Shift in focus towards achieving "superintelligence" for scientific advancement
Strategic considerations regarding AGI impact and ties to Microsoft

Source: THE VERGE