The CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, said artificial general intelligence could arrive in five years.

artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a research field with the goal of developing software capable of human-like intelligence and self-learning, enabling it to perform tasks beyond its initial training.

In response to a question at Standford University’s economic forum about how long it will take to achieve AGI, the NVIDIA boss said the answer is determined by how that goal is defined. 

“If I gave an AI … every single test that you can possibly imagine, you make that list of tests and put it in front of the computer science industry, and I am guessing in five years’ time, we will do well on every single one,” said Huang, as reported by Reuters.

Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) can pass tests like legal bar exams but has difficulties with specialised medical tests like gastroenterology. However, Huang added that in five years times AI should be capable of passing such tests.

Huang emphasised that achieving AGI might take longer, depending on its varying definitions. Scientists disagree on defining the workings of the human mind which makes it challenging for engineers to set clear goals, thus making AGI harder to achieve.

Huang stressed AGI could be further away depending on other definitions. Scientists are still in disagreement on how to describe how the human minds work. As such, ‘it is hard to achieve as an engineer’ because engineers need defined goals.

Huang also said more chip factories, also known as fabs, will be needed to support the industry. However, chip improvements over time will also reduce the overall number of chips required.

“It is not as if the efficiency of computing is what it is today, and therefore the demand is this much. I am improving computing by a million times over 10 years,” said Huang.

In January, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, said he intends to utilise funds raised for a chip venture to establish a network of semiconductor manufacturing factories. Through the project, there will be a collaboration with leading chip manufacturers and a worldwide network of chip fabrication plants will be established.  

AI Excitement Propels NVIDIA

Jensen Huang heads the world’s leading maker of AI chips used to create systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Last week, chipmaker NVIDIA saw an unprecedented £218 billion ($277 billion) surge in its stock value in a single day, setting a new Wall Street record. 

The surge was driven by NVIDIA’s quarterly report, which surpassed expectations amid AI excitement. NVIDIA’s stock rose 16.4% to close at £619.23 ($785.38), raising its market capitalisation to £1.54 trillion ($1.96 trillion). 

Earlier this month, NVIDIA said it is building a new business unit to design custom chips for cloud computing firms, including advanced AI processors. NVIDIA currently controls 80% of the high-end AI chip market. This position has increased its stock market value by 40% this year to £1.37 trillion ($1.73 trillion) after it more than tripled in 2023.

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