Jed McCaleb, a leading figure in the cryptocurrency world, has announced a remarkable investment plan in the field of artificial general intelligence (AGI) development.
McCaleb plans to allocate $1 billion of his approximately $3.9 billion crypto fortune to developing an AGI system based on the workings of the human brain. This investment will be made through the Astera Institute, which McCaleb founded.
This initiative will not be limited to artificial intelligence alone. McCaleb has pledged an additional $600 million to support research in the field of neuroscience. This move indicates a multidisciplinary approach to AGI development, aiming for a better understanding of biological intelligence.
The Emeryville-based Astera Institute plans to initially record neural activity patterns in mice while they perform specific tasks, using brain-computer interface technologies. The data obtained will then be transformed into a next-generation artificial intelligence architecture. In later stages, the experiments will be expanded to include monkeys and humans.
McCaleb argues that the Transformer architecture, upon which many current AI systems are based, lacks critical elements such as planning, decision-making, and motivation. Therefore, he suggests exploring more biologically based approaches, arguing that AI systems inspired by the human brain could be better understood and developed in a more controlled manner.
*This is not investment advice.