Help Steer the Development of AI for Good

At Vancouver Startup Week 2024, the AI twin of Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO and Founder of SingularityNET, delivered an illuminating keynote speech. Watch the full video here:

Dr. Goertzel, a pioneering scientist and visionary in the field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), calls on us to approach the rapid advancements in AI with foresight and responsibility. His insights underscore the urgent need to guide AI development toward a future that enhances the well-being of humanity and nurtures the diversity of all intelligent life forms.

My friend Ray Kurtzweil forecasted some time ago that we would achieve human level AGI around 2029. Not long after that he predicted that human level AI we create would become self-improving, making itself smarter and smarter and eventually becoming artificial super intelligence. It's 2024 now so 2029 is only 5 years away. I've long thought Ray's forecast seemed reasonable. 10 years ago most people thought Ray was being incredibly optimistic. 

So what if Ray I and other AI optimists are right and we're just three five or eight years away from machines as smart as people. The upside potential is incredibly exciting right, a machine smarter than us, well disposed toward us, could essentially solve every problem we face today from aging and death to scarcity, from eliminating Warfare to solving complex science and engineering problems. On the other hand, you know the potential risks of advanced AGI. They have been depicted ad nauseum in Endless Hollywood science fiction movies.

So how do we steer the development of artificial intelligence in a positive direction? Positive toward human beings, positive toward other life forms on Earth, positive toward the diverse spectrum of intelligent beings that will come to flourish after the initial breakthrough to human level AGI. This is a core question for Humanity to explore over the next few years.

Dr. Goertzel's keynote speech illuminates the incredible potential and profound challenges that come with the advent of AGI. His perspectives serve as a call to action for researchers, technologists, and policymakers to collaboratively shape the future of AI in ways that enhance human life and preserve the diversity of intelligent beings. As we stand on the cusp of a new era, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the evolution of AI remains aligned with the values of compassion, wisdom, and sustainability. Let us embrace this transformative journey with optimism and vigilance, steering the course of AGI toward a brighter and more inclusive future for all.