--- title: "Google Says It’s Closing in on Human-Level Artificial Intelligence" description: "Google DeepMind lead researcher Dr. Nando de Freitas boldly declared that \"the game is over\" and that as we scale AI, so too will we approach AGI." date: "2022-05-19" modified: "2022-05-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-deepmind-agi" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "agi" - "ai" - "artificial general intelligence" - "artificial intelligence" - "DeepMind" - "Google" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Google Says It’s Closing in on Human-Level Artificial Intelligence ![Google DeepMind lead researcher Dr. Nando de Freitas boldly declared that "the game is over" and that as we scale AI, so too will we approach AGI.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Too Smart Artificial intelligence researchers are doubling down on the concept that we will see artificial general intelligence (AGI) — that's AI that can accomplish anything humans can, and probably many we can't — within our lifetimes. Responding to a [pessimistic op-ed published by *TheNextWeb* columnist Tristan Greene](), Google DeepMind lead researcher Dr. Nando de Freitas boldly declared that "[the game is over]()" and that as we scale AI, so too will we approach AGI. ## Nerd Fight Greene's original column made the relatively mainstream case that, in spite of impressive advances in machine learning over the past few decades, there's no way we're gonna see human-level artificial intelligence within our lifetimes. But it appears that de Freitas, like [OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever](), believes otherwise. "Solving these scaling challenges is what will deliver AGI," the [DeepMind researcher tweeted](), later adding that Sutskever "is right" to claim, [quite controversially](), that some neural networks may already by "slightly conscious." DeepMind itself hasn't gone so far as to declare its new [Gato multi-modal AI system]() capable of AGI, but given what one of its lead researchers is saying, it seems only a matter of time before Google declares that it's going to be the first to achieve it. **READ MORE:** [DeepMind researcher claims new ‘Gato’ AI could lead to AGI, says ‘the game is over!’]() \[*TheNextWeb*\] **More on AGI:** [*Elon Musk Says Tesla Robots Could Achieve AGI*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()