Mistral CEO Dismisses AGI as Hype But Musk and Altman Predict Superintelligence Soon

• Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch is not convinced by artificial general intelligence.
• The comments come as leading tech executives warn against superintelligence being just around the corner.
• Mensch believes a larger worry is the impact of U.S. AI tech firms worldwide.

It is rare to hear a leading tech executive in the AI space talk down the invention of artificial general intelligence (AGI) — but Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch has slapped down the idea as a “very religious” fascination.

The news comes as the world’s most prominent tech leaders, from OpenAI’s Sam Altman to Tesla boss Elon Musk, have said the deployment of “AI smarter than humans” could be a matter of months away.

The ‘AGI’ Hype

AGI refers to a type of AI that can understand, learn, and apply intelligence across a wide range of tasks at a human-like level and beyond.

Since the AI development boom catalyzed by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, there has been growing interest in how far we might be from AGI.

Last year, tech leaders predicted the rise of AGI and AI superintelligence, a form of AI that significantly surpasses humans.

Elon Musk, who previously signed a joint appeal to pause AI development for humanity’s safety, predicted that superintelligence could be here by 2029.

“AI will probably be smarter than any single human next year,” Musk said .

“By 2029, AI is probably smarter than all humans combined,” he added.

OpenAI’s Altman has shared these dramatic predictions, predicting last year that superintelligence could be just a few thousand days away.

“It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there,” the ChatGPT CEO said.

In June 2024, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son also predicted that AI 10,000 times smarter than humans would be here in a decade.

Son added that AGI, which he described as likely being ten times smarter than humans, was only three to five years away.

Is AGI Just a Fantasy?

Mensch, the boss of French AI startup Mistral AI, believes the tech leaders spouting predictions of AGI may have a god complex.

“The whole AGI rhetoric is about creating God,” Mensch said in an interview with the New York Times. “I don’t believe in God. I’m a strong atheist. So I don’t believe in AGI.”

Mensch, who believes that AI should be trained openly, said the warnings from companies such as Google and Microsoft were just the narrative of a “fear-mongering lobby.”

The Mistral boss said companies were using AGI fear to convince lawmakers to enact rules that would help squeeze out rivals.

Although Mensch is not sold on the sinister warnings of AI becoming superior to humans, he can see technology changing how humans work.

In fact, Mensch believes AI will completely eradicate some jobs and force others to require retraining. However, he doesn’t see this happening in the next few years like other predictions have warned.

“It’s coming faster than in the previous revolutions,” he said. “Not in 10 years, but more like in two.”

EU vs. U.S.

Mensch believes a real threat is the impact U.S. AI tech firms are having on cultures across the world.

“These models are producing content and shaping our cultural understanding of the world,” Mensch said.

“And as it turns out, the values of France and the values of the United States differ in subtle but important ways,” he added.

Mensch has been a fierce campaigner for fewer regulations in the EU surrounding AI, arguing that they limit innovation.

Just one month after Mistral launched, inspired by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it raised $113 million in seed funding.

Since then, the French AI firm has partnered with Microsoft as the tech giant looks to alleviate its dependence on OpenAI.