The Pomp Podcast
Ben Goertzel, Founder & CEO of SingularityNET: The Intersection of Bitcoin and Artificial Intelligence
- Ben Goertzel's 30+ year career in AI research and development, spanning academic work and applied AI for enterprises, with focus on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- SingularityNet's decentralized blockchain-based AI marketplace enabling AI agents to communicate, cooperate, and outsource work to one another in a "society of minds" architecture.
- Narrow AI versus AGI distinction: narrow AI excels at one task; AGI exhibits flexible, creative problem-solving across new domains and may lead to superintelligence within 5–10 years.
- Current AI misuse concentrated in surveillance, military, financial trading, and advertising; Ben advocates shifting balance toward compassionate, loving applications to shape emerging superintelligent systems ethically.
- Two-pronged business model: SingularityNet as free, open decentralized platform with AGI token incentives, plus Singularity Studio as for-profit spinoff delivering polished enterprise products (analogous to Linux/Red Hat and Ethereum/ConsenSys).
- Supply and demand strategy including partnerships with Cisco (traffic analytics), PICC Insurance (China), and Domino's Pizza; planned "Request for AI Portal" (fall 2019) to crowdsource AI development via token rewards.