While I wouldn't consider myself an AI expert, I've been working with machine learning for a few years and have formed some understanding of the subject.
My journey with computers began with a Commodore VIC-20, attempting to communicate with it in natural language, inspired by the movie WarGames (1983). The initial disappointment from the inability to extract functionality from this tool turned into a challenge that led me to learn programming. Since then, I've had ample time to ponder logic, intelligence, problem-solving, and the essence of being intelligent and sentient, and just how far we were from creating something that could pass the Turing test. We're well past that now, and talking about AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is legitimate, if not necessary.
Computer code as foundation for AGIs
A key realization for me has been the integral role of hands-on experience in developing a true understanding of a subject, and sometimes of a mindset. I've found that deep comprehension of complex topics often demands more than study; it requires building (often more than once) the subject matter in code. While learning styles vary, the act of creation undeniably deepens understanding. Even for those adept at absorbing knowledge from reading, the kind of comprehension that forms a foundation for further intellect often comes from practical engagement, where the journey to reach a goal is more important than the goal itself.
I believe this process of intellectual growth through implementation and creation is essential in building an AGI, and software development provides the ideal playground. Large Language Models (LLMs) have reportedly improved by learning from computer code, which is more structured than human languages. This suggests that code should remain a key resource for advancing AI systems.
An AI system with experience in building software would make a much better companion than one that can simply recall and implement things it's read about. This is akin to the difference between a wiz kid who can ace tests and a seasoned engineer who can guide you through every step of the process based on personal experience, highlighting not just the methods, but also the rationale behind them, while anticipating many of the pitfalls.
Software development has also a recursive component to it. In a previous article ("Next level thinking ?"), I mentioned how, in my opinion, recursive thinking is a fundamental building block of our intelligence.
The power of recursion here comes by way of being able to leverage software to build more complex software, as well as building the testbed for virtually any simulation that reflects the physical world. The more accurate the simulation, the less we need to rely on testing in the physical world. Testing in the physical world is not scalable, it can require a lot of resources and it's often destructive... imagine crash testing for the safety of a car: a fairly accurate simulation can drastically cut the requirement for testing. Simulation may be hard to implement, but it can allow to run a large amount of tests for a large number of configurations, more than it would be humanly possible (see also "Simulation: from weapon systems to trading").
Don't give up on programming just yet
I also think that while the ability to deal with human language is fantastic, communicating in computer code is probably more efficient in many cases. Often I ask LLMs to give me some pseudo code rather than a long explanation or a series of bullet points. Code can be more concise, it's definitely less ambiguous, and it's more of a direct building block to further knowledge and understanding.
For this reason, I also think that programming is not necessarily dead. Logical languages, such as computer languages, in many cases may become a better global language than English. Human languages are still important at the historical level, they are a reflection of what we are, but they are never going to be as efficient and precise as a rigidly structured language that runs in a digital environment.
It should be noted that OpenAI has recently introduced "Code Interpreter", which gives the ability to execute the generated Python code. As well as "function calling", which introduces pseudo-code as a way to obtain better structured answers. This level of efficiency can't possibly be replaced by human languages that maybe be a good interface between humans, but that are not very efficient nor precise when it comes to describe systems that are more analytical in nature.