AI superintelligence could arrive in 'few thousand days': OpenAI CEO
What's the story
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has shared his vision for the future of AI in a recent blog post.
He refers to this upcoming era as "The Intelligence Age," and believes that humanity is on the cusp of a transformative period.
According to Altman, AI will soon evolve into personal assistants, provide customized education and even help with healthcare.
He also predicts that AI superintelligence—a hypothetical AI with human-like intelligence capabilities—could be here in "a few thousand days."
AI evolution
Altman envisions AI as a societal game-changer
Altman emphasized that the rapid evolution of AI is not a new phenomenon, but one that will gain momentum in the future.
He stated, "This phenomenon is not new, but it will be newly accelerated."
He further added that our capabilities have significantly improved over time due to societal advancements rather than genetic changes.
In his view, society itself represents a form of advanced intelligence.
AI prediction
Altman predicts arrival of superintelligent AI
Altman also predicted the arrival of superintelligent AI within a few thousand days, although he acknowledged that it might take longer.
"It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I'm confident we'll get there," he wrote.
He credited deep learning as the driving force behind AI's rapid advancement, stating, "Deep learning worked, got predictably better with scale, and we dedicated increasing resources to it."
AI challenges
Altman warns about the cost of computing power
Despite his optimism, Altman recognized the cost of computing power as a significant hurdle.
He warned that without a substantial expansion in computing infrastructure, AI could become a scarce resource only available to the wealthy.
"If we want to put AI into the hands of as many people as possible, we need to drive down the cost of compute and make it abundant," he cautioned.
AI future
Altman foresees prosperity in the AI age
Altman acknowledged potential downsides to the AI age but remained confident that the benefits would outweigh any negatives.
He expressed his belief that "a defining characteristic of the Intelligence Age will be massive prosperity."
He also suggested that many of today's jobs would seem trivial compared to those in a few hundred years, highlighting the potential for unimaginable prosperity in this future era.