SingularityNet, an AI startup, is on the verge of deploying a revolutionary “multi-level cognitive computing network” in the coming months. This supercomputer is designed to be the foundation for an artificial general intelligence (AGI) system, capable of mirroring – and potentially surpassing – human cognitive abilities. The company announced their plans on Monday.
The pursuit of AGI is widely considered the next pivotal milestone in the evolution of artificial intelligence. While today’s most advanced models, like GPT-4 and Gemini 1.5 Pro, exhibit exceptional capabilities and excel in specific tasks, they lack the ability to apply their skills across various disciplines. AGI, a concept still in its theoretical phase, would overcome these limitations, possessing the capacity to reason and learn independently, regardless of the task at hand.
SingularityNet is actively building the computational infrastructure necessary to train and deploy such a system, utilizing some of the most advanced components available. According to a report from LiveScience, their modular supercomputer will be equipped with a formidable array of hardware, including Nvidia L40S GPUs, AMD Instinct and Genoa processors, Tenstorrent Wormhole server racks powered by Nvidia H200 GPUs, and Nvidia’s GB200 Blackwell systems capable of exceeding 1,500W power output.
Supercomputer architectures differ significantly from conventional desktop setups. They operate by employing multiple sets of processors (CPUs and GPUs) organized into individual nodes. These nodes are then interconnected in massive numbers, forming the larger arrays that constitute the overarching supercomputer.
“This supercomputer in itself will be a breakthrough in the transition to AGI. While the novel neural-symbolic AI approaches developed by the SingularityNET AI team decrease the need for data, processing, and energy somewhat relative to standard deep neural nets, we still need significant supercomputing facilities,” SingularityNet CEO Ben Goertzel told LiveScience. “The mission of the computing machine we are creating is to ensure a phase transition from learning on big data and subsequent reproduction of contexts from the semantic memory of the neural network to non-imitative machine thinking based on multi-step reasoning algorithms and dynamic world modeling.”
“Before our eyes, a paradigmatic shift is taking place towards continuous learning, seamless generalization, and reflexive AI self-modification,” he continued.
The company plans to make their supercomputer accessible to the public, once it becomes fully operational in late 2024/early 2025, through a token system. Users will be able to purchase tokens, reminiscent of classic arcade systems, and utilize these tokens to gain access to the system. The data generated from these interactions will then be fed back into the system to fuel further AGI experimentation and development.
SingularityNet is not alone in the race to build and deploy the first AGI. OpenAI, founded with the goal of developing AGI, and Meta, under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, have allocated over $10 billion for their respective AGI research and development endeavors. The pursuit of AGI is shaping the future of AI, with numerous companies and organizations investing heavily in its development.
