Mark Zuckerberg has never shied away from making bold claims about the future of technology. But his latest statement may be the most audacious yet: artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI that is more capable than humans across most tasks — is just around the corner.
Speaking in early 2024, the Meta CEO declared that the company will have “an absolutely massive amount of infrastructure” ready by year’s end, priming it for training what could be the world’s first true AGI model. In his view, the race toward human-level intelligence is no longer about if it will happen, but when. AGI has long been the holy grail of artificial intelligence research. Unlike today’s large language models, which are powerful but narrow, an AGI could reason, learn, and adapt across domains — from science to creativity to problem-solving — with little human guidance. For Zuckerberg, building the infrastructure means assembling vast computing resources, AI talent, and data pipelines that could rival anything seen in Silicon Valley.
But while the vision is ambitious, experts caution against taking the timeline too literally. Some believe we’re still decades away from AGI, pointing to current AI’s flaws: hallucinations, bias, and lack of real-world understanding. Others argue that breakthroughs in scaling and self-improving systems could indeed push us to the brink much faster than expected.
The implications are enormous. If Meta — or any company — reaches AGI first, it could reshape global economics, geopolitics, and even daily life. But it also raises urgent questions:
- Safety: How do we ensure such a system remains aligned with human values?
- Control: Should one company hold the keys to an intelligence that surpasses humanity?
- Inequality: Who benefits from AGI — the entire world, or only a select few?
Zuckerberg’s declaration fits into a broader trend: tech leaders openly framing AGI not as science fiction, but as an imminent milestone. Whether this is a realistic forecast or an overconfident sales pitch, one thing is clear — the race to AGI is heating up, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
