I believe that people who suggest we're closer [to AGI] do not understand just how amazing human brains are.
Driving the news: SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son has outlined one of the most ambitious timelines for artificial intelligence adoption, predicting that artificial general intelligence — the ultimate goal for many AI developers — will arrive within the next two to three years, Bloomberg reports.
- Speaking at SoftBank’s annual forum for enterprise clients, Son said AI technology will evolve rapidly, becoming an integral part of daily life. He described a future where AI not only assists with mundane tasks but also responds to human emotions, striving to make people happier.
Son's crystal ball: Son’s latest prediction comes as SoftBank continues to invest heavily in AI technologies. The company is contributing $500 million to OpenAI’s $6.6 billion fundraising round, which values the AI startup at $157 billion. While Son didn’t mention the investment in his speech, he praised OpenAI’s newest ChatGPT model for its reasoning capabilities, noting that it can provide rapid, thoughtful responses to complex queries.
'Don't buy the hype': While Son envisions a world where AI systems manage households, other experts show skepticism about the current state of AI. Dr. Michael Couper is a serial entrepreneur and CEO/CTO for several startups in the education and AI space. "I just don't quite buy the hype," Couper said in an exclusive interview. "I think we're getting close to the point where models are as useful as they can be in the consumer space, but we're probably much farther off from creating something that might reasonably be construed as human-like intelligence. I believe that people who suggest we're closer than that do not understand just how amazing human brains are."
We’re just not going to see AGI appear in three months. It’s an incremental, step-by-step process.
An incremental approach: Rehan Sheikh is a University of Cambridge graduate and CTO and Co-Founder of YC’24 startup Remade that uses AI to hyper-personalize videos for marketplaces. "We’re just not going to see AGI appear in three months," he said. "It’s an incremental, step-by-step process. GPT-4, for instance, was an important step forward, as was '4o' and the mini series. OpenAI recognizes the AGI gap and is investing in improved reasoning capabilities over time."
Why it matters: The race to achieve AGI has the potential to upend entire industries, transform global economies, and redefine societal structures, fundamentally altering how humans live and work in ways that are still largely unpredictable. Companies like SoftBank that invest heavily in AI are betting on machines to offer massive competitive advantages. OpenAI, a leader in the field, has also taken a more measured approach. Sam Altman has stressed the uncertainty surrounding AGI’s timeline, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing safety, ethics, and collaboration. The outcome of this race will determine how responsibly and ethically AGI is integrated into society, shaping the future of work, governance, and human interaction on a global scale.
