Artificial Intelligence: what's next?

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the holy grail of AI, allowing machines to think, learn and adapt like humans but what will it mean for you?

- DAVID CROOKES

ChatGPT, DeepSeek AI, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Google Gemini and, of course, Apple Intelligence may be what the world is making a fuss about now but Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is looming on the horizon and its capabilities either look amazing, very scary indeed or a mixture of both.

As a cut above regular artificial intelligence (AI), AGI is set to be revolutionary and play a key part in what many - including the World Economic Forum - are calling the Intelligence Age. But just what can it achieve and when can we expect it? More to the point, what might humanity look like once the technology is unleashed upon the world? Could it be our saviour, an existential threat or something in between?

Over the following pages, we're going to be looking at AGI in greater detail, examining how the development of this technology is moving at a rapid pace and the steps being taken. We'll be getting insights from top experts to see just what it means for you (and your career) and we'll look at how AGI could change the way you live your life day-by-day - perhaps even altering the length of time you and your loved ones will remain on this planet.

As we do, we'll touch upon new developments which seem to be surfacing daily, many of them pushing us ever closer to a watershed moment. In fact, while researching this article, the world's first fully autonomous AI agent called Manus emerged in China with its makers saying that it potentially offers a glimpse into AGI.

Will new start-ups such as these beat more established players such as OpenAI, Google and Meta and what sort of responsibilities would they need to bear in mind? As you'll discover, there are many such questions surrounding a higher-level AI and the regulations that may need to be put in place so that humans and computers can live safely side by side.