Chapter 09 · Sustainability & AISustainability & AI

Artificial general intelligence (AGI)

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

A hypothetical class of AI with the ability to understand, learn and apply knowledge across essentially the full range of human cognitive tasks, rather than excelling at a defined set.

References

Pearson / BerkeleyRussell & Norvig — Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

This source provides part of the technical or institutional basis for the definition.

Stanford CRFM / arXivBommasani et al. — On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models (2021)

This source supports the explanation of how the term is applied, measured or governed in practice.

Overview

What it means

AGI is the longstanding long-term goal discussed in AI research, contrasted with today's task-limited systems. Standard textbooks such as Russell and Norvig frame the field's ambition this way; no system today meets the definition, and expert views on feasibility and timing diverge widely.

How it is used

The term now features in governance and safety debates, in lab charters, and in scenario planning about AI's long-run economic and environmental effects. It is frequently invoked loosely in marketing, where it functions more as rhetoric than as a technical category.

Why it matters

For a sustainability dictionary, AGI matters mainly as contested language: claims about imminent general intelligence shape investment, energy-demand projections and policy urgency. Distinguishing present capability from speculation is part of reading AI discourse critically.