Ben Goertzel

Ben Goertzel is a computer scientist,artificial intelligence researcher, and entrepreneur known for his contributions to artificial general intelligence (AGI). He is the founder and CEO ofSingularityNET, a decentralised AI platform integrating AI and blockchain technology. He also leads the OpenCog Foundation and the AGI Society, which organises the annual Artificial General Intelligence conference.

Goertzel has worked on various AI projects, including his role as Chief Scientist at Hanson Robotics, where he contributed to the development of Sophia the Robot. He is also involved in Rejuve, Mindplex, Cogito, and Jam Galaxy, all part of the SingularityNET ecosystem. His research spansnatural language processing, machine learning, computational finance, bioinformatics, virtual worlds, and theoretical physics.

He has published over 25 books and approximately 150 technical papers, covering AI, AGI, and related fields. His work with AGI includesOpenCog, a framework that utilises probabilistic inference and evolutionary programming to develop general intelligence. He has spoken at international conferences, discussing AGI’s future impact and ethical considerations.

Goertzel has expressed that AGI could emerge within a few years and that it may replace a significant portion of human jobs. However, he believes AGI will ultimately be beneficial, addressing challenges likeclimate changeand economic inequality.

Beyond AI, he has explored philosophy, consciousness, and complex systems. He is also involved in experimental fiction and music, performing as a keyboardist and vocalist in the Jam Galaxy Band, which features a humanoid robot performer.

Previously, Goertzel served as CTO of Webmind/Intelligenesis and Genescient Corp. and as Chief Science Officer at Aidyia Limited. He was also the Vice Chairman of Humanity+, a futurist nonprofit organisation.