AI then AGI

October 30, 2025

Blockbuster deals, market windfalls, warfare, and controversies involving artificial intelligence (AI) dominate newscasts as we enter a new era of business and technology. What we call “AI” today is artificial generative intelligence, a collection of powerful statistical engines that can perform specific tasks by using machine learning algorithms to process large amounts of data, identify patterns, and learn to make decisions or perform tasks without explicit programming. However, the next technological leap — the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — is only a few years away and will upend human existence. AGI remains hypothetical, but when it arrives, it won’t be about building tools, but will be about building entities with human-level cognitive abilities that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a vast range of intellectual tasks. AI performs tasks, but AGI will be self-sufficient, potentially self-directed, and is just a few years away. Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI,” worries that AGI will advance so quickly that it will slip beyond human control. “The risks of misuse, accidents, and societal harm are profound. We’re not prepared.”

Human interaction with generative artificial intelligence chatbots — such as Grok or ChatGPT — is already creating concern. In Belgium, a man recently committed suicide after weeks of conversations with an AI chatbot that encouraged his despair and decision to kill himself. In the United States, a father killed his children, and a 47-year-old tech professional killed himself and his mother, after each had relied on advice and encouragement from AI chatbots. Usage of these bots is staggering already, and their interactions are unimpeded. In 2025, ChatGPT alone received more than 2.5 billion daily prompts from users worldwide, reported Axios.