TOO REAL TO BE ARTIFICIAL

Anticipating the imminent future as experienced by an imagined elder

Let us envision having AGI (artificial general intelligence) by the dawn of 2030. Building on this convincing feasibility, this made-up blog projects the soon-to-arrive future from the outlook of a golden ager, who is describing personal experiences, being present in that epoch.

Six years from now, we- the humans- will be at the zenith of technological perfection. This is not just a mere exaggeration but it is a given that the way AI has seeped into the global consciousness, the day is not far when humanity will revere artificial general intelligence (AGI) even more than their cognitive intelligence.

Let us transport ourselves six years into the future and get a glimpse of the incredible yet believable human mindset resulting from the powers bestowed by AGI.

Here is a brief portrayal of a day imagined in 2030, seen through the eyes of a 72-year-old observer.

Hi there. I’m Vinod Patel, a retired government official. I am technically a baby boomer, born in an era where computers and smartphones were an implausible possibility. Never have I ever imagined that my twilight years will be ripe with such sublime experiences of artificial general intelligence.

Before AGI, AI systems required profound training before they can handle tasks within their targeted domains. AGI, on the other hand, are computer programs with human-like understanding and cognitive capabilities. Such computer programs can handle unfamiliar tasks without additional training in any domain.

I am blessed to live my autumn years in times when computer programs (AGI) possess autonomous self-control, a considerable degree of self-understanding, and the ability to grasp new skills. Who would have ever imagined that AI research will underpin a substantial possibility of empowered computer programs that can solve complex problems in settings and contexts that were not taught to them at the time of their creation.

Although, I was not less surprised when artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which functioned within a set of pre-determined parameters, were helping me solve novel and difficult tasks with human-level performance. For example, it was a profound revelation to me when I started using ChatGPT to draft awe-inspiring emails, and other content formats during my veteran years.

All my years, I doubted my written language proficiency and here was a tool that could process and create everything in a jiffy. My colleagues and I were a bit scared to think of this AI tool as a job-devouring devil that will contribute to mass unrest, layoffs, terminations, and what not.

However, our assessment was completely incorrect. It was not something to disdain but to cherish. Eventually, it was not tool late before we realized that AI systems were not to be derided but to be treated with compassion. Compassion because these AI systems-based tools required significant training before they could handle tasks they were intended for. They were equivalent to toddlers that need significant training and guidance to develop essential skills and navigate their environment.

However, current artificial general intelligence (AGI) technologies are a notable advancement over their predecessors.

I am a privileged oldie who can boast of my experiences in the last year of the third decade of the 21st century. You might think that how this old lad is able to express the nuances of AI technologies so intricately? Well, I may have been born a baby boomer but today I wield the power of AI in my daily pursuits. It completes me!

Achieving AGI was no mean feat. I mean training AI models to apply the knowledge and experience from one domain to another and make connections between different data points without any manual intervention just like humans perform tasks cognitively, intuitively, was a gargantuan task for AI researchers. Kudos to them! Humanity owes them a lot.

Much to everyone’s surprise, deep learning models of AGI were trained to demonstrate the authentic creativity and sensory perception that humans possess. In simpler terms, AGI embodies human-like capabilities. It has seamlessly woven into every aspect of our daily personal affairs so much that I cannot even imagine walking down the street or communicating with somebody without using it in some way.

Right from the air I inhale to every gasp of CO2 exhaled; every complex intricate level of metabolic breakdown is easily detailed through my AGI-driven health tracker that adorns my wrist.

Also, since, I am a god-loving person, my daily count of spoken lies and truths is an essential insight that I glean every night before going to bed. All thanks to my AGI-based eye glasses that keep a tab on my eye contact cues and blood pressure readings when I interact with others throughout the day, thus serving as my moral compass for guiding me towards becoming a truthful and genuine person.

Oh, I wish could go till eternity to rave about how extraordinarily subtle and quality-driven my life has been post relying on these AGI tools I surround myself with but it is quarter to eleven, and it is quite late; should retire for the night. Bye!

Returning to the present, what we have just witnessed is just a short preview of what could potentially be the golden chapter in the near future. The abundance of greatness in AGI is yet to be uncovered, rendering words inadequate to capture its essence thoroughly and justly.