Godfather of AGI on Why Big Tech Innovation is Over

Is the AI arms race between tech giants and nations pushing us toward a dangerous future? On this episode of Digital Disruption, we’re joined by the founder of SingularityNET and the pioneering mind behind the term Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Dr. Ben Goertzel. Dr. Ben Goertzel is a leading figure in artificial intelligence, robotics, and computational finance. Holding a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Temple University, he has been a pioneer in advancing both the theory and practical applications of AI, particularly in the pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) a term he helped popularize. He currently leads the SingularityNET Foundation, TrueAGI, the OpenCog Foundation, and the AGI Society, and has organized the Artificial General Intelligence Conference for over fifteen years. A co-founder and principal architect of OpenCog, an open-source project to build human-level AI, Dr. Goertzel’s work reflects a singular mission: to develop benevolent AGI that advances humanity’s collective good. Dr. Goertzel sits down with Geoff to share his insights on the accelerating progress toward AGI, what it truly means, and how it could reshape human life, work, and consciousness. He discusses the role of Big Tech in shaping AI’s direction and how corporate incentives, and commercialization are both driving innovation and limiting true AGI research. From DeepMind and OpenAI to decentralized AI networks, Dr. Goertzel reveals where the real breakthroughs might happen. The conversation also explores the ethics of AI, the dangers of fake democratization and false compassion, and why humanity must shape AI’s evolution with empathy and awareness. In this episode: 00:00 Intro 00:21 What is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)? 01:10 The pace of AI progress and the hype cycle 05:44 The path from human-level AGI to superintelligence 09:20 How close are we to AGI? 13:08 Transformer vs. multi-agent systems 14:05 Which AI labs might strike AGI gold? (DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic) 17:07 Big Tech’s innovator’s dilemma and why true AGI may come elsewhere 20:20 Predictive coding 22:59 Why Big Tech resists new AI training paradigms 29:16 Imagining life after AGI: optimism, transhumanism, and choice 33:29 Navigating the transition from AGI to ASI 37:55 Decentralized vs. centralized control of AGI 43:20 Who (or what) will be in control 47:19 Risks of power concentration in early AGI development 51:01 Who should own and guide AGI? 53:06 Why we need participatory governance for intelligent systems 54:47 The danger of fake compassion and false democratization 1:00:50 Finding meaning in the age of intelligent machines 1:04:13 How AGI could help humanity focus on inner growth 1:07:20 – Learning how to learn: the last human advantage Connect with Dr. Goertzel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengoertzel/ X: https://x.com/bengoertzel Visit our website: https://www.infotech.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfoTechRG