Introducing More than meets the AI, a daily column providing news and analysis on artificial intelligence at the cutting edge.
This inaugural edition covers:
-
What is “More than meets the AI?” (211 words)
-
Defining “pre-AGI” (189 words)
-
A call to action (146 words)
What is More than meets the AI?
The first time I got genuinely giddy about a journalism project was when I got the green light to write my first series. I pitched a “beginner’s guide to AI” to my editor and my career as an AI reporter was suddenly off and running. Over the years, I ended up writing several series for The Next Web and Neural.
I did a beginner’s guide to the AI apocalypse with a bunch of fun explainers on how things could go horribly sideways if we don’t develop AI in a human-centered way. And, of course, my favorite series was one that had nothing to do with AI, the “Games to play on Date Night” review series that continues on Love is a Fetish. I even had an amazing and satisfying run as the editor of the “Coronavirus in Context” and “Neural” newsletters.
But one thing I’ve never had the chance to do is write a column.
More than meets the AI will be my first. And I couldn’t be more excited! We’ve decided to focus specifically on “pre-AGI” technology because, from where I’m standing, there isn’t a more exciting field to cover. We’re living through the genesis of a techno-industrial revolution that will almost certainly birth wholesale disruption on a global scale.
What is pre-AGI?
Simply put, “pre-AGI” is any technology that can be viewed as a direct precursor to artificial general intelligence. This is a tricky wicket to snipe through because nobody knows if AGI is even possible. What makes it even harder is, even if we assume AGI is possible, nobody knows how to achieve it.
I’ve spent the past five years of my life studying artificial intelligence systems in depth. There are myriad promising approaches to AGI being explored in laboratories around the world. From DeepMind’s one-shot learning systems to OpenAI’s transformers, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the future.
But More than meets the AI isn’t about the future. It’s about the moment we’re living through right now. And I believe that moment can be defined as the “pre-AGI” era. Whether we achieve AGI or not, the progress being made right now will be a catalyst for massive change and upheaval over the course of the next few decades.
And More than meets the AI will be here, five days a week, to talk you through the excitement with an eye for sober, human-centered, reality-based discourse.
A call to action
More than meets the AI is a daily column about “pre-AGI” currently hosted on Love is a Fetish. If you’re interested in reprinting, republishing, or syndicating this column, you may do so for free, provided you agree to the following terms:
-
You must notify Nikki@loveisafetish.com before reprinting, republishing, or syndicating
-
You may not change the headline or body text. You may remove subheadings, but you are not authorized to replace subheadings or any other text.
-
You must give full credit, including an author byline displayed at the top of the column and full named credit for any images you reprint.
-
You must link back to the original article on Love is a Fetish.
If you’re interested in exclusively hosting this column or in advertising/marketing with More than Meets the AI or Love is a Fetish, please contact Nikki to discuss partnership opportunities.
