AI is slowly taking over many aspects, and it is also changing the way we interact with things in our daily lives. Now it seems we are entering a pivotal point in the history of humankind. This is what Google's AI head and CEO of DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, thinks. In a personal blog post, he once again asserted that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is just around the corner and only a few more years away in making. He also notes that urgent action is the need of the hour, which is in all aspects in favour of humanity with regard to this technology. Now, AGI is a type of AI that either has the capacity to match or surpass human cognitive skills, that too virtually across all aspects. Hassabis, who is also a Nobel winner, describes AGI as "a system that exhibits all the cognitive capabilities the brain has." Hassabis has already predicted that AGI is just a few years away, 3-4 years, as a matter of fact.
Now, the DeepMind CEO is also urging urgent action in this specific direction and is calling for an institution led by the US that would act like a watchdog, addressing the fact that these AI-related issues are not being looked after with the utmost care. He suggests that the game is instead going towards an AI Arms race between companies and countries.
"Urgent action is needed to address risks that might arise as we get closer to AGI. We've already seen the challenges frontier models pose for cybersecurity, and other threats, including nuclear and bio risks, may soon emerge as capabilities continue to advance."
AI is evolving, and what turn it will take is still unknown. It could either be good and aid in humans' overall growth, or it could also go in the opposite direction, but this is still ambiguous. This is what industry experts have agreed upon unanimously.
"On the horizon, we will need robust safeguards to maintain control of increasingly agentic, recursively self-improving systems - and tackle unknown issues that will only become clearer over time."
AI is currently becoming more and more capable and has become competent enough to make more of its successors without the need for human intervention. This is something that has been pointed out by Anthropic's research as well. Anthropic has time and again pointed out the risks that AI poses while also admitting that even their understanding of AI is incomplete regarding how these models work internally. Anthropic chief Amodei has also pushed for stringent rules that need to govern AI.
Hassabis has also expressed that, "I'm confident that mitigating the technical risks related to AI is a challenge we can collectively address, but only if we give ourselves the time and space to get this next crucial step right. Currently, as a field and as a wider society, we aren't doing that."
What Kind Of Watchdog Has Been Proposed
DeepMind CEO has proposed a regulatory institution for AI that is along the lines of a body known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which regulates the Wall Street brokerage houses under federal supervision.
Hassabis believes the world needs to put proper safeguards in place before the most powerful AI systems become widely available.
Hassabis has proposed a phased approach to regulating advanced AI models. Under his proposal, developers would initially be encouraged to voluntarily submit their most capable AI models for safety reviews up to 30 days before they are released. If the system proves effective, those checks would eventually become mandatory.
The idea, according to Hassabis, is to establish a reliable process before AI reaches an even more advanced stage.
"Nobody in the world knows for sure what is going to happen from here, and even the experts disagree," Hassabis said.
"When there is a large degree of uncertainty and the stakes are this high, proceeding with cautious optimism is the sensible and correct strategy."
US Could Lead the First Phase
Hassabis believes the United States is in the best position to launch such an initiative because of its leadership in AI research and technology. In his view, an American-led framework could become the foundation for wider international cooperation on regulating frontier AI.
Frontier AI refers to the most advanced general-purpose AI models available at any given time.
"Since this technology is going to affect the entire planet, ideally this framework would spur the international community to reach a consensus on how to manage the most serious risks while ensuring everyone has access to and can benefit from the opportunities that AI brings," Hassabis said.
A Narrow Window Before AGI
While AI has generated enormous excitement, Hassabis said it has also created genuine uncertainty about what lies ahead. He believes the current moment is critical, as decisions made now could shape how artificial intelligence develops in the future.
"But the future is not yet written; we must use this precious window before AGI arrives to shape this technology for the benefit of all humanity."
He also stressed that the choices made today will influence the next stage of human progress and determine how society adapts to increasingly capable AI systems.
"By safely stewarding AGI into the world, we can enter a new golden age of scientific discovery and progress, and usher in a bright future of incredible human flourishing."
Next Big Step For Humanity?
Hassabis is of the view that this is a turning point for humanity and expresses it as "Nothing less than the dawning of a new age for humanity." DeepMind's CEO has worked on AGI all his life and believes that if its deployment is responsible, it could be "one of the most beneficial and transformative technologies ever invented." AGI is not just another regular AI that we are aware of, and is not like a standard technological invention like the internet, which is considered a consequential breakthrough, Hassabis said. "It is much more akin to the discovery of electricity or fire. If you stop to think about it, we've essentially found a way to make sand think. It's miraculous." The sand which Hassabis is talking about is basically silicon chips, derived from silicon, which in turn is derived from sand.
"The magnitude of this technology's impact will be unprecedented, perhaps 10x that of the Industrial Revolution at 10x the speed."
AGI could help us solve some of the major problems that humankind faces right now, and could accelerate drug discovery and also help in discovering and developing new sources of energy that are clean, and also find out novel advanced materials. He expresses, "We could even reach a point where resources are no longer the limiting factor for human progress, leading to an amazing new era of abundance."
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Although concerns regarding it still persist, we have already seen how normal AI has been used lately, which has caused backlash and brought up topics such as privacy and security to the fore. Lately, AI-related models have also come under fire for suggesting or aiding suicide as well. As dependency grows on these systems, there is also a looming fear of job losses that hovers over us all, with all these big tech companies that are leveraging AI to cut human jobs, which is now a haunting reality.
What is necessary is the discussion on how far we can give control to AI, with the new generations being born in a world where AI will be in vogue. What understanding we are passing down to the next generations is something that still needs attention and discussion; is it aid or dependency?