An executive primer on artificial general intelligence

Headlines sounding the alarms that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead humanity to a dystopian future seem to be everywhere. Prominent thought leaders, from Silicon Valley figures to legendary scientists, have warned that should AI evolve into artificial general intelligence (AGI)--AI that is as capable of learning intellectual tasks as humans are--civilization will be under serious threat. Few seeing these warnings, stories, and images could be blamed for believing that the arrival of AGI is imminent. Little surprise, then, that so many media stories and business presentations about machine learning are accompanied by unsettling illustrations featuring humanoid robots. Many of the most respected researchers and academics see things differently, however. They argue that we are decades away from realizing AGI, and some even predict that we won't see AGI in this century. With so much uncertainty, why should executives care about AGI today? The answer is that, while the timing of AGI is uncertain, the disruptive effects it could have on society cannot be understated. Much has already been written about the likely impact of AI and the importance of carefully managing the transition to a more automated world.