AGI's 'big brass ring,' artificial general intelligence, will be worth trillions, ex-Meta executive predicts

Feb 7, 2023 ·

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) could potentially be worth trillions of dollars in the 2030s according to the former president of Meta, a company focused on creating an AGI-powered assistant.

The prediction was made by Steve Omohundro, who founded Meta and ran it until 2019. Omohundro believes that AGI will become commercially viable in the next two to five years and that its value could reach into the trillions by the 2030s.

Omohundro warns that AGI could also have a negative impact. He cites research from the U.S. National Science Foundation which has found that autonomous machines could replace human labor and cause social dislocations. He also highlights the potential for powerful AI systems to be used for surveillance and military applications.

In addition to potential downsides, Omohundro believes that AGI could provide significant benefits to humanity. He argues that AGI could help solve global problems such as climate change, poverty, disease and illiteracy. By providing accurate predictions of future events, AGI could also help mitigate risks and avoid disasters.

Overall, Omohundro believes that AGI could bring both positive and negative outcomes, but that the potential rewards outweigh the risks. He concludes that if we can ensure that AGI is developed responsibly, then it could be an incredibly valuable tool for humanity.