Artificial intelligence is one of the greatest tools man has ever invented.

This article is a primer on the terms AI (Artificial Intelligence), AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and ASI (Artificial Superintelligence).

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Definition: Systems designed to perform specific tasks that normally require human intelligence.

Status: Today’s AI systems fall into this category.

Characteristics:

• Good at specialized tasks they are trained for. (An AI that can beat chess champions usually cannot drive a car or write a business plan.)
• Cannot broadly transfer knowledge to unrelated domains.

Examples:

• ChatGPT answering questions.
• Google Maps finding routes.
• Spam filters in email.
• Image recognition software.
• Self-driving features that stay help your car stay in a lane.

AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)

Definition: A machine that can perform intellectual tasks at a human level across a wide range of domains.

Status: AGI has not yet been achieved, but some industry leaders believe it will be achieved within a few years. Others believe that AGI systems will not be able to outperform humans at essentially all tasks until 2040–2050.

Characteristics:

• Can learn almost anything a person can learn.
• Adapts to new situations without extensive retraining.
• Can reason, plan, solve problems, and transfer knowledge between fields.
• Comparable to a capable human being.

Examples: An AGI could do the following competently, much like a well-educated person:

• Write a book.
• Diagnose a business problem.
• Learn a new language.
• Design a website.
• Tutor a child in math.

ASI (Artificial Superintelligence)

Definition: Intelligence that surpasses the best human minds in virtually every field.

Characteristics:

• Smarter than humans at science, engineering, medicine, business, and creativity.
• Can solve problems far beyond current human capabilities.
• Could potentially improve itself, creating even greater intelligence.

Status: ASI does not exist today and remains theoretical.

Examples: An ASI might:

• Discover cures for major diseases.
• Design revolutionary technologies.
• Solve complex climate or energy challenges.
• Make scientific breakthroughs that would take humans centuries.

Summary

Analogies:

• AI would be a specialist who is world class at one job.
• AGI would be a talented person who can learn and perform many jobs.
• ASI would be a mind vastly more capable than the smartest humans.

Other analogies:

• AI is a tool.
• AGI is a human-level thinker.
• ASI is a superhuman thinker.