Sam Altman Says OpenAI Has Figured Out How to Build AGI

"This sounds like science fiction right now, and somewhat crazy to even talk about it."

Path Forward

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has tried all kinds of rhetorical strategies to suggest that the dawn of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is nigh — and in new missive, now he's trying a fresh pitch: that while OpenAI hasn't quite created AGI quite yet, it knows the roadmap to get there.

"We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it," Altman wrote in a personal blog post.

There's a lot to unpack about what a "traditional" understanding of AGI might entail. In the past, OpenAI has described it as a "system that outperforms humans at most economically valuable work" and Altman characterized it as a "magic intelligence in the sky," though an exact definition remains shrouded in controversy.

One thing's for sure: this latest appeal dovetails perfectly with OpenAI and Altman's current business proposition: that they can pull off economically compelling AI, if only they can obtain more and more financial and computing resources to build the systems to support it.

To that end, Altman wrote in his new post that AI "agents" may begin to "join the workforce" this year. In doing so, the CEO wrote, these seemingly AIs will "materially change the output of companies" — which would also mean, of course, that they'd replace human workers, with all the baggage that entails.

Glory Days

In reality, whether OpenAI is really on the cusp of finally birthing AGI — which Altman has been teasing for ages — is a matter of serious contention among experts.

Sure, maybe it can fund enough data centers to scale its way to true human-level intelligence, but it's also perfectly possible that it'll hit a wall, or that its gains are already leveling off.

But for all Altman's bravado, his latest entreaty sounds a lot like OpenAI's familiar and steady drip of AGI investment pitches.

"This sounds like science fiction right now, and somewhat crazy to even talk about it," the CEO contended. "That’s alright — we’ve been there before and we’re OK with being there again."

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