Comment by MeetingsBrowser
9 hours ago
Why release an image model, or a video model, or custom agents if AGI will just make them all obsolete?
Why build codex if AGI will replace SWEs?
Why build excel integrations if AGI will replace spreadsheets?
9 hours ago
Why release an image model, or a video model, or custom agents if AGI will just make them all obsolete?
Why build codex if AGI will replace SWEs?
Why build excel integrations if AGI will replace spreadsheets?
The short answer is: they need to make money now to fund continued improvements towards AGI. This is extremely obvious and these "well if they had AGI..." arguments are clearly in bad faith.
You have to run a legitimate business and make money. After the "takeoff," anything is fair game. It could result in value accruing to capital (lab shareholders) and everyone else is screwed, it could result in the status quo being maintained but people do way more and GDP goes up by a lot, it could result in a post scarcity society etc. Theres a reason why its called the singularity - you can't see past the event horizon.
In any case it is optimal for OpenAI to create good products that generate revenue NOW vs going for some straight shot pie in the sky model that is "AGI." SSI is attempting to do this and I suspect they are about as close as anyone else is, and I'd honestly assume they are likely further away than OpenAI or Anthropic at the moment. But one of these classes of companies has actual revenue that is arguably good for the economy, the other is just a glorified research lab that has produced nothing of value.
AGI is like water, and these surfaces are the plumbing. Agents and the internet's existing APIs are how AGI will actually be delivered in the short term.
But you're completely right: our current APIs were optimized for humans, and some like Excel date from the 80s. So in the long term, agents will highly likely create their own interfaces optimized for when no human is in the loop.
Which is exactly why companies stick with current APIs for now. Fable 5.1 already emits alien-like reasoning traces, and the recent OpenAI agent swarm accident just proved this.
the point of this article perplexes me. the implication is we should all just take our Quietus. you decide.