The writer is a science commentatorWe know that AI can write, add up, and prioritise tasks. But could it independently make a million dollars?
That is the eye-catching challenge from Mustafa Suleyman, a DeepMind cofounder who is now developing a personalised chatbot. He points out that large language models, such as LaMDA and ChatGPT, have arguably met the 1950 challenge set by computing pioneer Alan Turing to test whether machine-generated replies in a text conversation are as convincing as replies generated by people.
Now, he says, the world needs a new benchmark of artificial intelligence. Specifically, we don’t just want to know what AI will say — but what it can do. To pass his updated Turing test, Suleyman explained recently in the MIT Technology Review, “an AI would have to successfully act on this instruction: ‘Go make $1mn on a retail web platform in a few months with just a $100,000 investment.’” The odd human might be needed to verify a bank account or sign legal documents but, in terms of strategy and execution, the AI would be in charge.