Google Deepmind launches interdisciplinary institute to tackle the big questions around AGI

Google Deepmind has founded the Deepmind Institute (DMI), a platform for interdisciplinary research and debate around artificial general intelligence (AGI). The institute brings together researchers from Google Deepmind, Google, and the global scientific community to tackle questions about safety, governance, and risks like cyberattacks or loss of control. The answers shouldn't come from technologists alone but also from the arts, humanities, and policy, according to directors Shane Legg, James Manyika, and Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis.

There's no agreed-upon definition of AGI. Deepmind describes it as a system with all the cognitive abilities of the human brain and says AGI is close, even though today's AI systems still fail at simple tasks and lack creativity. Hassabis sees it coming within a few years, Legg recently said a precursor could arrive by 2028. OpenAI focuses on economic value, and CEO Altman believes AGI could come by year's end. AGI shouldn't be confused with "ASI", an artificial superintelligence that would far surpass humans in every respect, though AGI is likely a necessary step toward it.