OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman believes the term artificial general intelligence or AGI is becoming less relevant as rapid developments in artificial intelligence make it harder to define.
Speaking in an interview, Altman said, “I think it is not a super useful term,” when asked if the company’s latest GPT-5 model moves the world closer to AGI. AGI is commonly described as a form of AI that can perform any intellectual task at the same level as humans or beyond. OpenAI has long described achieving AGI safely and for the benefit of all as its core mission.
Altman, who in the past suggested that the Microsoft-backed company was nearing AGI, has recently shifted his focus to another concept called artificial superintelligence or ASI. He explained that different companies and individuals use different definitions for AGI. One view is that it is an AI capable of doing a significant amount of the world’s work, but this is complicated by the fact that the nature of work changes over time.
“I think the point of all of this is it does not really matter and it is just this continuing exponential of model capability that we will rely on for more and more things,” he said.
The promise of AGI has been a key factor in AI companies raising billions of dollars and securing high valuations. OpenAI is valued at 300 billion dollars based on its latest funding round and is reportedly preparing for a share sale at a valuation of 500 billion dollars.
Altman said progress should now be measured in levels rather than a simple yes or no on whether AGI has been achieved. He had earlier predicted that AI breakthroughs in mathematics and science would happen within the next two years.
Earlier this month, OpenAI released GPT-5, a large language model that is available to ChatGPT users worldwide. The company says the model is smarter, faster and more useful for writing, coding and answering health queries. Some critics argue the improvements over earlier models such as GPT-4o are only marginal.
Acknowledging that GPT-5 is not yet at AGI level, Altman said, “The idea that you have a system that can answer almost any question, do some tasks, and write software for you at PhD levels of expertise… most people, if they heard that five years ago, would have said, ‘absolutely impossible.’”
He added that the technology’s impact on education, healthcare, productivity, economic growth and scientific discovery is “quite special.”
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