Billionaire tech investor and philanthropist Tej Kohli warns that in our rush to embrace artificial intelligence, we risk neglecting other emerging fields that could have equally profound, if not more significant, impacts on society, such as artificial general intelligence, biotech, and quantum computing.
It seems a world away now, but I remember being a young undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology in the late 1970s. The personal computing revolution was underway. Though in their infancy, Microsoft and Apple were pioneering the shift from cavernous mainframe computers to smaller, compact devices that people could have in their homes. My friends and I were gripped with excitement. The possibilities seemed limitless.
The AI revolution we’re currently witnessing reminds me of this but on an even larger scale. Only, unlike the 1970s, the frontline of digital and technological advancement today is far greater. AI is just one of many significant breakthroughs taking place. My concern is that in our rush to embrace this new technology, we risk neglecting other emerging fields that could have equally profound, if not more significant, impacts on society.
The historian Daniel Borstin observed: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge”. Things we think we know. So convinced are we that AI marks the ultimate solution to our technological progress that we risk being blind to its current limitations and the potential of other emerging fields. This “illusion of knowledge” surrounding AI’s potential means that we risk delaying progress in areas like Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), quantum computing, and advanced biotech. These technologies can also reshape industries and cultures in ways we’re not fully considering.
AI is not without merit. It can solve complex problems, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance human capabilities. But, it has also taken on an almost mythical quality. The risks of this are public disillusionment as it fails to live up to expectations and the diverting of funding from other promising technologies.
AI in its current form is actually quite limited. What we call AI today is essentially narrow AI: systems designed to perform specific tasks, typically on a script-to-script basis. AGI, on the other hand, represents a theoretical leap: machines capable of learning, understanding, and applying knowledge across a wide range of tasks, just like a human.
The implications of AGI are huge. It could revolutionise not just industries but the fabric of society, creating systems that think and innovate independently. It’s also a race already underway, led by the US, closely followed by China and Europe nowhere to be seen. Yet, despite this, AGI research remains underfunded and underexplored compared to the deluge of resources flowing toward narrow AI. This is partly because AGI’s potential is harder to quantify and its timeline more speculative. Thanks to NVIDIA’s pioneering development work in delivering the Grace Hopper Superchip and Blackwell architecture, we are edging closer to the computational power needed for AGI. If achieved, AGI could dwarf the impact of any current AI system.
Advanced biotech is another area with opportunities to transform healthcare through personalised medicine, CRISPR-based gene editing, and organ regeneration. Quantum computing also promises to solve problems that are currently impossible for even the most powerful supercomputers, such as modelling molecular interactions for drug development or optimising complex logistics networks.
These fields, like AGI, lack mainstream attention and funding compared to AI. This imbalance could have long-term consequences, delaying breakthroughs in areas with more immediate and tangible benefits than incremental improvements in AI.
Though their applications differ, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are redefining how younger generations interact with technology, fostering digital communities, and creating new career paths. Yet, it remains overshadowed by the glitz of AI despite its potential to redefine how we consume media and engage with one another.
Our fixation on AI stems from its visibility and immediate applicability. AI tools like chatbots and image generators are easy to understand and deploy, making their value accessible to the general public and investors. Other fields, particularly those still in the theoretical or developmental stages, struggle to capture similar attention because their breakthroughs feel abstract or distant.
Moreover, AI has become a symbol of technological progress, a shorthand for innovation. This has fueled a feedback loop where more attention leads to more investment, generating more hype. Meanwhile, other technologies languish in the shadows, waiting for their moment.
This isn’t to suggest that AI is unimportant. It will remain a critical driver of innovation in the coming years. But we must resist the temptation to put all our eggs in one technological basket. Diversifying our attention and investment across a broader range of emerging technologies will ensure more balanced progress and mitigate the risks of overhyped expectations and eventual disillusionment with AI.
Governments, investors, and technologists must take a more holistic approach to innovation. Funding should be allocated not just to the most visible technologies but also to those with the most transformative potential, even if their benefits are less immediately apparent. The media can also help expand the discussion.
AI alone will not shape our future. Instead, our rate of technological progress will depend on progress made across multiple areas of technological innovation, each contributing in its unique way. By broadening rather than channelling our focus, our journey along the road of human discovery will be faster.
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