Meet the startup developing human-level artificial intelligence

Scott Phoenix founded Vicarious in order to create what he thinks is the last piece of technology you or anyone else will ever need: Human-level artificial intelligence.
“If we can build the first human-level AI,” he says, “then all of the problems that have stymied the human race for decades, like curing cancer, inventing fusion power, and making space travel cheap, are things that our intelligence systems could help us solve in hours or days.”

“If we can build the first human-level AI, then all of the problems that have stymied the human race for decades…are things that our intelligence systems could help us solve in hours or days.”

But they’re up against an often skeptical public. We see in popular media and hear from notable thinkers that the rapid development of artificial intelligence could pose one of the biggest threats to our way of life. Phoenix and the team at Vicarious are mindful of the risks, but they see a much brighter future where human-level AI is able to solve virtually every problem that humans simply can’t.

This video is part of Challengers, a Freethink original series presented by Fast Company, that introduces viewers to entrepreneurs building companies that could transform entire industries and change the world. Watch additional episodes here.

Related
New AI detection tool measures how “surprising” word choices are
A new AI detection tool that measure how “surprising” text is reportedly delivers far fewer false positives than existing options.
DeepMind’s AI could accelerate drug discovery
A new study suggests that AlphaFold, DeepMind’s AI tool for predicting protein structures, could be useful for drug discovery after all.
10 must-see technologies from CES 2024
From super-hyped AI assistants to apps that translate babies’ cries, CES 2024 has given us a glimpse at the tech of tomorrow, today.
Data poisoning: how artists are sabotaging AI to take revenge on image generators
Artists unhappy with their work being used by generative AI have are using “data poisoning” to mess with the algorithm.
Microsoft launches Copilot Pro for “power users”
Microsoft has launched Copilot Pro, a premium subscription service that makes its AI companion accessible to more people in more contexts.
Up Next
Subscribe to Freethink for more great stories