Google’s commitment to the artificial intelligence (AI) sector remains strong, as CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, recently stated that the company is expected to invest over $100 billion in the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the future. Hassabis made these remarks in response to Microsoft’s recent announcement regarding the “Stargate” project, which involves discussions with OpenAI to build a $100 billion supercomputer for training AI systems.
The proposed costs of the Stargate project are significant, especially when compared to the construction cost of the world’s most powerful supercomputer, the US-based “Frontier” system, which amounted to approximately $600 million. The Stargate project, unlike Frontier, will consist of a series of computers spread across the US in five phases, with the final phase being the ultimate “Stargate” system.
Hassabis’ comments do not provide specific details on how Google plans to respond to Microsoft’s project, but they do indicate that the company is aware of Microsoft’s efforts and intends to invest a comparable amount, if not more. The ultimate goal for both companies is to be the first to develop AGI, which refers to an AI system with the potential to perform tasks at the level of an average adult human, given the necessary resources. AGI could have the ability to start and run businesses, utilizing tools such as a line of credit, a cryptocurrency wallet, and access to the internet.
However, the development of AGI poses challenges, as there is no scientific consensus on its definition or the methods to create it. Even among prominent AI scientists like Yann LeCun of Meta and Demis Hassabis of Google, there is disagreement on whether AGI can be achieved through the current approach of expanding datasets and training parameters, or if it can be achieved at all.
In a Financial Times article published in March, Hassabis drew a negative comparison between the current hype surrounding AI/AGI and the scams prevalent in the cryptocurrency market. Despite the hype, both AI and crypto have experienced significant growth in the financial landscape in the first few months of 2024. Bitcoin, for instance, has seen its value increase from around $30,395 per coin in April 2023 to over $60,000 at the time of writing, recently reaching an all-time high of around $73,000. Similarly, Microsoft, the current leader in the AI industry, has witnessed a rise in its stock price from $286 per share to approximately $416 during the same period.