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Zuckerberg’s Vision for Superintelligence
In a recent recruitment drive that has significantly impacted the tech landscape, Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired numerous leading AI researchers from prestigious organizations like OpenAI, Google, and Apple. Offering lucrative pay packages that reportedly reach into the hundreds of millions or even a billion dollars, Zuckerberg is now sharing his vision for “superintelligence.” In a straightforward note posted online, he states, “Over the last few months, we have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves. The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable. Developing superintelligence is now in sight.”
The Distinction in Approaches
Zuckerberg elaborates on his and Meta’s perspective regarding superintelligence, emphasizing its personalized nature. This aligns with Meta’s suite of products, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and its AR and VR devices, all of which offer users a degree of customization and tailored content. Notably, Zuckerberg contrasts his vision with that of others in the industry who advocate for a centralized approach to superintelligence focused on automating valuable work. This appears to be a subtle critique of OpenAI, which defines artificial general intelligence (AGI) as “highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.”
The Future of AI in the Workforce
At a recent conference in Washington, D.C., OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman declared that AI would render entire job categories “totally, totally gone,” specifically highlighting customer service as a sector likely to be dominated by automated systems. In contrast, Zuckerberg presents a different narrative: “At Meta, we believe that people pursuing their individual aspirations is how we have always made progress in expanding prosperity, science, health, and culture. This will be increasingly important in the future as well… The rest of this decade seems likely to be the decisive period for determining the path this technology will take, and whether superintelligence will be a tool for personal empowerment or a force focused on replacing large swaths of society. Meta believes strongly in building personal superintelligence that empowers everyone.”
Personal Empowerment Through AI
In a video accompanying his note on X and other social platforms, Zuckerberg emphasizes that Meta aims to empower individuals by placing the power of superintelligence in their hands. He mentions that while some aspects will enhance productivity, many applications will be more personal in nature. This vision bears resemblance to Altman’s perspective shared nearly a year ago, where he stated, “It won’t happen all at once, but we’ll soon be able to work with AI that helps us accomplish much more than we ever could without AI; eventually, we can each have a personal AI team, full of virtual experts in different areas, working together to create almost anything we can imagine.”
A Shared Vision of the Future
Just last month, Altman reiterated on his blog that the entire industry is working toward building a brain for the world—one that is highly personalized and user-friendly, limited only by innovative ideas. He noted, “For a long time, technical people in the startup industry have made fun of ‘the idea guys’; people who had an idea and were looking for a team to build it. It now looks to me like they are about to have their day in the sun.” Altman concluded by stating that OpenAI is fundamentally a superintelligence research company with a clear path ahead.
In conclusion, the competing visions of superintelligence presented by Zuckerberg and Altman may be more aligned than they initially seem.
Full Note from Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg’s complete note elaborates on the recent advancements in AI. He mentions, “Over the last few months, we have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves. The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable. Developing superintelligence is now in sight. It seems clear that in the coming years, AI will enhance all our existing systems and enable the creation and discovery of new things that aren’t imaginable today. However, it remains an open question what we will direct superintelligence towards. In some ways, this will be a new era for humanity, but in others, it’s just a continuation of historical trends. As recently as 200 years ago, 90% of people were farmers growing food to survive.”