DeepMind Investor Claims Human-Level AI is Still a Far Cry Amid Rapid Progress

In recent months, there have been numerous claims that the emergence of generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, will have significant and far-reaching impacts on society, affecting areas such as employment, education, and more.

As a result, organizations and governments have begun drafting regulations to manage their expected growth. However, one investor believes that it is premature to be worried about these issues at this point.

Early AI Investor: "We're not at the moon yet."

Despite the rapid progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, human-level AI is still a long way off, according to Humayun Sheikh, an early investor in DeepMind.

Sheikh, who held 1.3% of DeepMind's shares in 2011, claimed that even large language models (LLM) developed by companies such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI are lightyears away from the so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI), CNBC reports.

AGI is a hypothetical system capable of completing any task to the same level as a human.

AI Is Very Much 'In Its Infancy'

In an interview with CNBC, Sheikh compared AGI to the moon and LLM technology to Yahoo, suggesting that AI is still in its infancy.

"They are very limited. How you actually get them to do certain things is still in its infancy," Sheikh said. "This is very much: Google is not born yet, but Yahoo is," the investor added.

Sheikh's comments come as Google-parent Alphabet merges DeepMind with Google Brain, part of Google's research division, as it seeks to compete with Microsoft and other tech companies in AI.

Powerful AI Comes 'In the Next Few Years'

Earlier this week, Demis Hassabis, the founder of DeepMind, expressed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he believes some form of artificial general intelligence (AGI) may be achievable "in the next few years."

Sheikh, who holds Demis in high regard, commended the entrepreneur for being "extremely conscientious about the ethics of AI." He also noted that Demis has always been concerned about establishing boundaries around AI and ensuring it doesn't spiral out of control.

Calls to Pause AI Development

In 2014, Google made headlines by acquiring DeepMind for a whopping $500 million. This move was strategic, aimed at bolstering the company's AI capabilities and staying ahead of the curve in the tech industry.

And it seems that Google is not resting on its laurels, as it recently launched its own chatbot named Bard in an attempt to outshine ChatGPT and cement its position as a leader in AI.

AI's potential is enormous, especially when it comes to generating unique content from user prompts. People have been using this technology to create everything from thought-provoking poems to quirky images making the media lose its mind.

However, as with any emerging technology, there are concerns about the risks of sophisticated AI. In fact, a group of prominent tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, have called for a six-month ban on the development of AI that surpasses GPT-4, the latest version of OpenAI's massive language processing software.

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