MIT's Max Tegmark compares ignoring AGI to "Don't Look Up"

Max Tegmark, an AI researcher and MIT professor, expressed his growing concern about the potential impact of artificial general intelligence (AGI) on human society in a recent essay for Time. He compared the world's relaxed response to AGI to the satirical climate change movie "Don't Look Up," where people dismiss a species-destroying asteroid hurtling toward Earth.

Tegmark's Concern: Tegmark warns that AGI is a real threat and that humanity isn't doing enough to ensure it aligns with human values and safety.

• He counters the argument that 'AGI is impossible due to the unique nature of human intelligence' by stating that intelligence is all about information processing, whether it's through carbon atoms in brains or silicon atoms in computers.
• Citing a Microsoft study and a talk by deep learning researcher Yoshua Bengio, Tegmark suggests that AGI may emerge sooner than people think. While the actual timeframe for AGI's development remains unclear, experts generally agree that we should slow down the advancement of more powerful AIs.

Zoom Out: Tegmark urges humanity to acknowledge the threat AGI poses and take steps to avoid potential disasters. "Just look up!" he implores, emphasizing the need to recognize and address the danger before it's too late.