Microsoft and OpenAI set their own rules for AGI

Microsoft and OpenAI have decided they'll define for themselves what counts as artificial general intelligence (AGI) and when they've supposedly achieved it. The two companies say they'll appoint a panel of experts to make that call, but they haven't said who will be on it, what criteria they'll use, or even what AGI actually means. In a joint podcast, Sam Altman and Satya Nadella made it clear there's no shared definition or timeline, not even between them.

AGI was once considered a scientific milestone: an AI system that can think, learn, and solve problems like a human. Now, it's become a bargaining chip in a contract between two tech giants. That shift turns AGI into a label that can be applied or withdrawn whenever it's convenient, stripping it of any real, objective meaning. Maybe that was the goal all along—hype up the AGI label, then let it fade away when it no longer serves their interests.