At a time when the global artificial intelligence revolution is already reshaping the world by redefining and revolutionizing industries, economies, and even daily life faster than expected.
The concept of superintelligence has long piqued the interest of futurists, scholars, and the general public. Superintelligence, defined as intelligence that surpasses the finest human minds in practically every discipline, has the potential to cause dramatic change, both positive and harmful. Recently, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, made headlines by claiming that we are only “a few thousand days” away from reaching this technological milestone. But what does this mean for society, and how should we handle the imminent advent of superintelligent systems?
Mr Altman, the author of the largest generative AI tool ChatGPT, wrote in a recent blog post titled ‘The Intelligence Age’ that, “We may have superintelligence in a few thousand days!” It may take longer, but I am convinced we will get there.”
“In the next few decades, we’ll be able to do things that our grandparents thought were impossible. This behavior is not new, but it will be significantly accelerated. People have gotten considerably more capable throughout time; we can now accomplish things that our forebears would have thought impossible,” he wrote.
Mr Altman, speaking about the dawn of a new era in human history, stated, “Technology took us from the Stone Age to the Agricultural Age and then to the Industrial Age. The journey to the intelligence era begins here, with computing, energy, and human will.”
Understanding Superintelligence
Superintelligence is sometimes defined as the ability to do tasks with exceptional efficiency and effectiveness, outperforming human capabilities in problem-solving, creativity, and emotional intelligence. This raises serious concerns about control, ethics, and the possible threats posed by such powerful institutions.
Historically, improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) have been exponential. From early algorithms to complex neural networks, each advancement has moved us closer to machines capable of learning and adapting on their own. Altman’s claim that superintelligence is “just a few thousand days” away suggests that the next jump may be soon.
The main question that AI has raised so far is, “Will AI replace human jobs?” In his blog, Mr Altman attempted to address this issue, stating that “many of the jobs we do today would have looked like trifling wastes of time to individuals a few hundred years ago, but nobody is gazing back at the past, wishing they were a lamplighter. If a lamplighter could view the world today, he would be astounded by the abundance of affluence. And if we could fast-forward a hundred years, the prosperity all around us would still seem inconceivable.”
