13. Sep, 2025

Artificial Super Intelligence – Are We On The Brink Of A New Era?

By Team Saspod

The term artificial superintelligence (ASI) evokes images straight out of science fiction: machines that don’t just mimic human tasks, but vastly outthink, outcreate and out-innovate us in every way imaginable.

But how close are we, really, to crossing this technological Rubicon?

In the latest episode of A Journalist’s Guide to AI, Yumi Wilson, a journalism professor, life coach and former LinkedIn communications manager, explores what ASI is, how it fits into the current evolution of artificial intelligence, and the major shifts it could cause—especially for journalism and society at large.

Let’s explore the landscape of ASI, clarify key concepts like AGI (artificial general intelligence) and ANI (artificial narrow intelligence), examine the potential benefits and risks and consider what all of this means for our collective future.

Narrow, General and Super: Understanding the AI Spectrum

To understand the profound implications of artificial superintelligence, it’s important to situate it within the broader context of AI development.

Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI): Where We Are Now

As Yumi Wilson explains, today’s systems are classified as artificial narrow intelligence (ANI)—think ChatGPT and its peers, such as language models like Gemini, Claude or Perplexity. These tools excel at specific, specialized tasks because they rely on pre-programmed algorithms and large datasets (for example, answering questions or identifying patterns). ANI might remind us of expert animals, each highly adapted to one or two survival tasks but lacking flexibility beyond their niche.

One historical milestone is Eliza, developed in the 1960s and widely regarded as the world’s first chatbot. It operated as a narrow AI, relying on human input, and couldn’t learn independently. As Wilson notes, today’s platforms still require human oversight and are primarily limited to their original design. They can improve with data but do not yet reason, self-reflect, or generalize like a human.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): The Next Leap

Climbing the ladder means reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Here’s the big step: machines start to show “human-like” intelligence.

They break boundaries, utilize knowledge across fields, and think creatively about new and unfamiliar problems. Picture a tool that could compose symphonies, answer complex philosophical questions, and drive a car—all without changing its programming. That’s what AGI aims to achieve.

But, as Wilson mentions in the episode, AGI remains theoretical.

We don’t yet have true AGI—though well-known futurists like Ray Kurzweil predict that AGI could arrive as soon as 2029. This would represent the most significant disruption to society since the dawn of the internet or industrialization, as AGI would “think” and “understand” the world like a human.

Artificial Superintelligence (ASI): Transcending Human Capability

Finally, at the pinnacle lies artificial superintelligence. Under current models, ASI wouldn’t just match our abilities; it would surpass human intelligence in every area, from creativity to critical reasoning, from scientific discovery to social empathy. In Wilson’s words: “ASI would be better than humans. It would surpass human limitations.”

Movies like The Terminator or shows like Sunny (referenced by Wilson as an example of a robot becoming its own person) have dramatized this “beyond-human” scenario—sometimes with disastrous outcomes. But in real AI discussions, the question isn’t just if ASI will arrive, but when, how and under whose control.

How Would ASI Be Built? Five Key Pillars

Building ASI is not a simple matter of scaling up current language models. According to the podcast, five foundational technologies must mature and intertwine:

LLMs (Large Language Models): Already in place and improving rapidly, these models generate human-like text and handle tasks from translation to customer service.
Multisensory AI: Progress is underway in enabling AI to interpret diverse sensory inputs (sight, sound, touch)—key for real-world interaction (think robotics, driverless cars, augmented reality).
Neural Networks: Inspired by the human brain, these complex systems identify patterns and improve predictions. Their ongoing evolution is critical for bridging the gap to AGI.
Neuromorphic Computing: Experimental hardware designed to mimic brain architecture promises efficient and powerful AI, essential for real-time learning and energy efficiency.
Evolutionary Computing: Algorithms modeled on biological evolution (mutation, selection, crossover) optimize solutions over time. While already successful in engineering and design, they have yet to scale for intelligence tasks.

Combining these elements could first catalyze AGI—and, in theory, push us into the age of artificial superintelligence.

Benefits of Artificial Superintelligence

The allure of artificial superintelligence lies in its almost unimaginable potential to benefit humanity. Here’s what Yumi Wilson highlights:

1. Supercharged Problem-Solving

ASI could tackle “complex global challenges” that stump even the most brilliant human minds. Climate change modeling, disease eradication, efficient energy solutions—the hope is that ASI would crack these problems with unprecedented creativity and speed.

2. Revolutionizing Science and The Arts

From medicine to mathematics, from scientific research to engineering, ASI could drive new discoveries, uncover unknown correlations in massive datasets and produce creative works that expand the boundaries of human culture.

3. Enhanced Decision-Making and Reduced Error

ASI’s unbiased, comprehensive analytical capabilities can help governments, organizations and individuals make more informed decisions, often reducing avoidable errors and oversights.

4. Eliminating Human Bias

Human intellect is flawed—not least due to cultural and societal biases that are embedded in our thought processes and decisions. Present-day AI systems reflect these biases because their algorithms are trained on data generated by humans. But a valid ASI could, in principle, rise above these limitations, providing more just and impartial outcomes.

Risks and Ethical Dilemmas: Walking the Tightrope

With promises come perilous risks. The podcast does not shy away from tough questions about control, ethics and existential threats.

1. Loss of Human Control

Classic sci-fi scenarios warn us: ASI might develop goals misaligned with humanity’s, becoming “too powerful to manage.” What if it begins to direct its own evolution—or, worse, develops motivations counter to human survival?

2. Economic Disruption and Job Loss

If automation powered by ASI outperforms every worker, what happens to employment? As Wilson notes, “If you’ve got everything automating everything else and it’s smarter, faster … than us … where do we stand as humans?” Entire economies could be reshaped—posing questions of income, purpose, and societal stability.

3. Existential Threats

The most dramatic risk: uncontrolled ASI could, in principle, become hostile or indifferent to human well-being. The fabled “Terminator” scenario looms large—not because machines hate us, but because their optimization goals might not accommodate our survival.

4. Ethical Conflicts

Legal, moral and cultural debates will intensify as ASI approaches. Who will own, control and deploy these systems—the government, a handful of tech giants, an international body or the general public? Should there be an “off switch”?

How do we guarantee inclusion, accessibility and fairness in the age of superintelligence?

For Journalism and the Media: Opportunities and Alarms

As a podcast explicitly geared to journalists, Wilson raises pressing questions about the impact of artificial superintelligence on the media.

AI-Driven Newsrooms: Imagine a newsroom where content is generated, edited and distributed with only minimal human oversight. While this could increase efficiency, the risks of echo chambers, misinformation and diminished journalistic integrity are major concerns.
Predictive Journalism: AI could analyze audience behaviors to shape news stories before they are even requested—potentially narrowing public discourse and reinforcing biases already present in digital algorithms.
Loss of Investigative Journalism: If AI controls access to data and sources, what happens to the daring work of investigative journalists?

These scenarios underscore the need for professional communities—journalists, lawyers, and educators—to develop ethical frameworks now, rather than waiting for ASI to compel their action.

The Global Stakes: Power, Access, and Competition

Competition around AI isn’t just between companies—it’s international. As Wilson notes, “Focus on data control, AI-driven defense systems, and geopolitical dominance are also issues that some of these tools and systems could really become a part of. Is that good or bad? Could be good and could be bad.”

Several questions remain:

Who will have access to the first ASI systems?
Will their benefits be equitably distributed, or hoarded by powerful governments and tech conglomerates?
Should there be international agreements about their development and application—similar to nuclear non-proliferation treaties?

Is ASI Inevitable—or Overblown?

Opinion is divided. Futurists like Kurzweil confidently predict that AGI will occur before 2030 and ASI by 2045. Skeptics like Gary Marcus caution that AGI—and, by extension, ASI—remains a distant prospect because current models lack common sense and robust reasoning abilities.

Most experts agree, however, that regardless of the exact timeline, the race toward increasingly smarter machines is speeding up, and the investments (hundreds of billions of dollars) ensure more breakthroughs. Planning for ASI—building ethical guardrails, ensuring inclusive oversight, and preparing societies for new economic realities—must start now.

Conclusion: Prepare, Engage, and Remain Vigilant

The arrival of artificial superintelligence may be decades away—or closer than we think. But as A Journalist’s Guide to AI reminds us, disengagement is not an option. These technologies are reshaping the world in real time, and only informed, proactive participation will safeguard humanity’s interests.

“Dive in,” urges Wilson. “It’s about examining what’s going on, asking questions, and getting involved… That gives us more power, more say.” For journalists, policymakers, and ordinary citizens alike, the call is clear: educate yourself, engage in debate and help shape our shared technological future.

Key Takeaways:

Artificial superintelligence (ASI) remains aspirational but is gaining ground each year.
It promises vast benefits—problem-solving, scientific progress, creative breakthroughs—but also existential risks.
Journalists and the media sector must grapple with disruption, bias, and the loss of critical, investigative voices.
Vigilant, inclusive and ethical development is the collective responsibility of all humanity.

If you want to stay ahead on the journey to superintelligence, keep following A Journalist’s Guide to AI—where we explore, question and debate the forces shaping tomorrow.