The Road to Artificial Super Intelligence: An Insight from SoftBank\’s CEO
What lies ahead in the fascinating domain of artificial intelligence? By all indications, the path might be leading us towards an era dominated by superintelligent AI within a decade. At least, that\’s what Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank thinks.
A Vision of Superintelligent AI
Masayoshi Son recently made some bold claims about the future of artificial intelligence. Speaking at SoftBank’s annual meeting in Tokyo on June 21, he envisioned a future where AI far surpasses human intelligence, potentially revolutionising life as we know it. According to Son, by 2030, artificial intelligence could become one to ten times smarter than humans, escalating to a mind-boggling 10,000 times human intelligence by 2035.
In his vision, Son made a clear distinction between artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial super intelligence (ASI), two buzzwords that often confuse the uninitiated. To clarify, he suggested that AGI could be equivalent to human genius, potentially up to ten times smarter than an average person. ASI, on the other hand, leaps several bounds ahead with its capabilities potentially being a staggering 10,000 times beyond human potential.
Aligning Visions: SoftBank and SSI
Son’s audacious predictions fall in line with the mission statement of Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), a startup founded by a group of AI enthusiasts, including former chief scientist at OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, along with Daniel Levy and Daniel Gross. SSI aims to address both capabilities and safety related concerns in artificial super intelligence through groundbreaking engineering solutions and scientific breakthroughs.
The timing of the assertions made by Masayoshi Son and the founders of SSI highlight the growing focus on superintelligent AI within the tech industry. While SoftBank is spearheading the development of ASI, SSI emphasises the importance of safety in this exciting yet precarious journey towards super intelligence.
The Race for Superintelligence
The scientific community, however, is yet to align with these optimistic predictions, as consensus evades on the feasibility and capabilities of AGI or ASI. Current AI systems, although impressive in their specific domains, are still quite a distance from achieving human-like reasoning across all areas.
Despite this, Son took an emotive approach by linking the development of ASI to his own purpose and mortality. “It may sound strange, but I think I was born to realise ASI. I am super serious about it,” he declared.
Looking Towards the Future
Whether Son’s vision materialises within a decade or proves to be over-ambitious, it’s evident that the race towards superintelligent AI is heating up. With significant players like SoftBank and SSI positioning themselves at the forefront, we\’re left with important questions about the future of AI and its potential social impacts.
Job displacement, ethical challenges, and the daunting risks associated with creating an intelligence that far surpasses our own are real concerns. The allure of superintelligent AI is undeniably compelling, but only time will reveal if this captivating promise will become a transformative reality or remain a tantalising speculation.