In 2019, Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) was asked how he planned to monetize Artificial General Intelligence once his company managed to build it. His response was that, once built, they would ask it. The audience burst into laughter, but he continued: “I know it sounds like a joke, but that’s really what we plan to do.” In late 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT. In 2026, less than four years later, an article published in the journal Nature concluded that “the vision of artificial intelligence comparable to human intelligence formulated by Alan Turing in the 50s is now a reality.” However, this opinion is not shared by all experts, among whom the debate is becoming increasingly heated. Meanwhile, just as the search for the philosopher’s stone contributed to the development of chemical sciences, the search for human-like silicon intelligence has led to astonishing progress in the field of technology. 

In this course, we will discuss what is meant by general AI, compare AI in 2026 with human intelligence, attempt to clarify the debate surrounding its capabilities, and examine its relationship with humans and its current and potential effects on our society. It will be a multidisciplinary approach involving experts in AI, philosophy and culture, intellectual property, science policy, neuroscience, journalism, and literature. 

Program