Tim's blog

Artificial intelligence (AI) in general (not just intelligent agents) is without doubt not achieved yet. It is still just a dream and by now in 2015 the achieved level of artificial intelligence is just a joke comparing to the overall expectation about AI.
Beside of this being said, if it would be achieved it still has one down side: it is not for free. Tomorrow we will not achieve AI and the day after tomorrow we might achieve it but it will be very expensive. Imagine such a “machine” is built. This machine can do what we can do, in some aspects better as we can, in other may be just as good as we can or even less good. Then we have probably a big and very expensive tool which can do what an ordinary educated young man can do. That is not exciting at all! The only exiting aspect of it would be the ability to scale AI up. To build an AI machine which is expensive but can do what 1000 young educated men or women may do.
That is the dream. That is the big deal. That is the very future.
But how far are we away from this now in 2015?
Even with a breakthrough with quantum computers within the next 50 years, AI would be incredibly expensive and the point of below remark would be most likely fully out of reach.

PS: a remark for readers with a persecution complex or with the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories: If somebody would have achieved (cheap) AI, it would not make sense to share it. You could run a company with 100.000 people’s mind power for the cost of just 10.000 employees. Then it does not matter anymore in which field or branch you do business because you can be in any area better as others and in a rather short time you will be able to buy the whole world