American researcher Ben Gurtzl said in an interview with Agence France-Presse conducted on the sidelines of the "Web Summit" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that artificial intelligence may be a substitute for "80 percent of jobs" in the coming years, but he considered it "a good thing." .

The Brazilian-born researcher caused a stir this week at the Web Summit with his presentation of the robotic nurse, Grace, designed to take care of the elderly in their care homes.

Gurtzl is credited with what is known as "artificial general intelligence" (AIG), a key technology with human cognitive capabilities that can be developed "within a few years".

He is also behind SingularityNET, a platform dedicated to the decentralized and open development of AI.

Here is the transcript of the interview conducted with him by AFP:
Question: What is missing to develop an artificial intelligence system with human cognitive capabilities?
Answer: If we really want machines with the same intelligence as humans, and able to respond quickly to the unexpected, then these machines should be able to do much more than what they are programmed to do.

We haven't gotten that far yet. But there are reasons to believe that this is possible, not after decades, but only after years."

Question: What do you think of the controversy surrounding GPT Chat? Do you think it is necessary to freeze research for six months, as some people claim?

Answer: “I do not think that a six-month hiatus is required, because this artificial intelligence is not dangerous (...). It has no ability to think complex, multi-step, as scientists do, nor to invent new things outside of the data it receives.

He cannot make plans for how to deal with new situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are those who call for stopping research because this type of system contributes to misinformation. But does this mean that it is necessary to block the Internet? (...) I think we should live in a free society, and just as the internet shouldn't be banned, this (+chat gpt+) shouldn't be banned either."

Question: Should we consider artificial intelligence solutions in the place of some jobs as a danger?

A: “I think that time will outpace 80 percent of the jobs that humans take on under the new chat-type GPT systems that are expected to be introduced, but I don't see a danger in that, but rather a good thing. It's a good thing. People will find better things to do.” With (...) it is possible to automate almost all administrative tasks.”

“The problem will be in the transitional phase, when AI starts to make time overtake jobs in succession (…) I don’t know how we are going to solve the social problems that result from that.”

Question: What contributions can robots make to society today, and what can they do in the future with AI?

A: “She can do a lot of good things, like the robotic nurse Grace. In the United States, many elderly people feel lonely in nursing homes, as receiving food, medical care, and being able to watch television is not enough to provide them with what they need socially and emotionally .

But adopting humanoid robots in these centers to answer their questions, listen to their stories, and help them contact their children or make online purchases contributes to improving their lives.”

“In this case, there are no job cuts, as there are not enough applicants for nursing jobs. Education can also be an important area for humanoid robots, as well as housework.

Question: How can artificial intelligence be organized so that it has a positive impact on people?

- A: "Governance has to be participatory, involving the population, in some way, and that's technically feasible. The problem is that the companies that fund most of the research in AI don't care about the public interest. What they want is to make as much financial profit as possible for their shareholders." .