The Future of Intelligence

The "Root Node" Thesis: Why DeepMind Chooses Science over Products

graph TD
    %% Styling definitions
    classDef ai fill:#d5e8d4,stroke:#82b366,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef root fill:#fff2cc,stroke:#d6b656,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef barrier fill:#f8cecc,stroke:#b85450,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5;
    classDef leaf fill:#dae8fc,stroke:#6c8ebf,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef goal fill:#d5e8d4,stroke:#82b366,stroke-width:4px;

    %% TOP NODE
    AI[AGI / Artificial Intelligence]:::ai

    %% LAYER 1: Root Nodes
    %% Shortened title to prevent truncation
    subgraph Root_Layer ["Root Nodes (Hard Science)"]
        R1[Protein
Folding]:::root
        R2[Plasma
Physics]:::root
        R3[Material
Chemistry]:::root
    end

    %% LAYER 2: The Barrier
    subgraph The_Filter ["THE GREAT FILTER"]
        Limit["Human
Cognitive Limit
(Can't process
High-Dimensions)"]:::barrier
    end

    %% LAYER 3: Leaf Nodes
    %% Shortened title to prevent truncation
    subgraph Leaf_Layer ["Leaf Nodes (Real World Impact)"]
        L1[Curing
Disease]:::leaf
        L2[Unlimited
Clean Energy]:::leaf
        L3[Room Temp
Superconductors]:::leaf
    end

    %% LAYER 4: Goal
    Goal[Radical Abundance]:::goal

    %% CONNECTIONS
    AI -->|Ingest Data| R1
    AI -->|Solve Math| R2
    AI -->|Simulate| R3

    %% The Human Blockage (Red Dotted)
    R1 -.->|Too Complex| Limit
    R2 -.->|Too Fast| Limit
    R3 -.->|Too Vast| Limit

    Limit -.->|Stifles| L1
    Limit -.->|Stifles| L2
    Limit -.->|Stifles| L3

    %% The AI Bypass (Green Thick)
    R1 ====>|AI Solves Structure| L1
    R2 ====>|AI Controls Plasma| L2
    R3 ====>|AI Finds Material| L3

    %% Goal Connection
    L1 & L2 & L3 --> Goal

    %% STYLING
    linkStyle 9,10,11 stroke:#339933,stroke-width:4px;
    linkStyle 3,4,5,6,7,8 stroke:#ff0000,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 3 3;

The "System 2" Gap: Why Chatbots Can't Reason Yet

flowchart LR
    %% Styling
    classDef sys1 fill:#fff2cc,stroke:#d6b656,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef sys2 fill:#fff2cc,stroke:#d6b656,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef process fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
    classDef danger fill:#ffcccc,stroke:#b85450,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef safe fill:#d5e8d4,stroke:#82b366,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef insight fill:#e1d5e7,stroke:#9673a6,stroke-width:2px;

    %% SYSTEM 1 (Current State)
    subgraph System1 ["System 1
(Current LLMs)"]
        direction TB
        Q1[User Query]:::process --> Token[Probabilistic Token
Generation]:::danger
        Token --> Ans1[Immediate Answer]:::process
        Ans1 -.-> Risk[Risk: Hallucination /
Inconsistency]:::danger
    end

    %% SYSTEM 2 (Future State)
    %% Added 
 to title to prevent cut-off
    subgraph System2 ["System 2
(The AlphaGo Method)"]
        direction TB
        Q2[User Query]:::process --> Search[Search & Planning Space]:::process

        %% The Thinking Loop
        %% Added 
 to title to prevent cut-off
        subgraph Loop ["The Thinking Cycle
(Iterative Search)"]
            direction TB
            Gen[Generate Paths]:::safe --> Sim[Simulate Outcomes]:::safe
            Sim --> Ver[Verify Logic]:::safe
            Ver --> Eval{Good Enough?}:::safe

            %% The Feedback Loop
            Eval -- No (Search More) --> Gen
        end

        Search --> Loop
        Eval -- Yes --> Select[Select Best Path]:::safe
        Select --> Ans2[Reasoned Answer]:::safe
    end

    %% Insight Note
    Note[Deep Insight: We must
move from 'Speaking'
to 'Thinking'.
Inference requires work,
not just retrieval.]:::insight

    %% Connections
    System1 -.->|Evolution Required| System2
    System2 -.- Note

    %% Spacing Fix
    linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:gray;

The "Infinite Data" Loop: How to Beat the Data Wall

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    participant Internet as Finite Human Data
    participant Model as Foundational Model
    participant WorldModel as "World Model
(Genie)"
    participant Agent as "Agent
(SIMA)"

    Note over Internet, Model: The Old Paradigm (Hitting a Wall)
    Internet->>Model: Train on Text/Video
    Model->>Model: Reaches "Knowledge Ceiling"

    rect rgb(240, 255, 240)
    Note over WorldModel, Agent: The New Paradigm (Infinite Loop)
    Model->>WorldModel: Teaches Physics/Causality
    loop Self-Play & Simulation
        WorldModel->>Agent: Generates a NEW, novel scenario (e.g., a simulation)
        Agent->>WorldModel: Takes action / Solves problem
        WorldModel->>Agent: Provides Ground Truth Feedback (Physics/Math)
        Agent->>Agent: Learns from experience (Synthesis)
    end
    end

    Note right of Agent: Insight: AI stops imitating humans
and starts discovering new knowledge
via simulation.

The Active vs. Passive Shift: The Economics of Agency

graph LR
    %% Styling
    classDef passive fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef active fill:#fff2cc,stroke:#d6b656,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef loop fill:#e1f5fe,stroke:#64b5f6,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef insight fill:#e1d5e7,stroke:#9673a6,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef node fill:#fff,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;

    %% LEFT: PASSIVE AI
    subgraph Passive ["Passive AI (2023-2024)"]
        direction TB
        U1[User Energy]:::passive -->|Prompts/Context| Bot[Chatbot]:::node
        Bot -->|Text/Image| Out1[Summary/Draft]:::node
    end

    %% RIGHT: AGENTIC AI
    subgraph Active ["Agentic AI (2025+)"]
        direction TB
        U2[User Intent]:::active -->|High Level Goal| Ag[Agent]:::active

        %% The Autonomous Loop
        subgraph Loop ["Autonomous Loop"]
            direction TB
            Ag --> Plan[Plan Steps]:::node
            Plan --> Tool[Use Tools/Browser]:::node
            Tool --> Act[Execute Action]:::node
            Act --> Check{Check Result}:::node

            %% Feedback
            Check --"Not Done"--> Plan
        end

        Check --"Success"--> Out2[Completed Task]:::active
    end

    %% INSIGHT NOTE (Fixed Line Breaks)
    Note["Deep Insight: Passive AI
requires user energy.
Active AI (Agents) supplies
its own energy to bridge
the gap between Intent
and Outcome."]:::insight

    %% Connections
    Passive -.->|Shift in Responsibility| Active
    Active -.- Note

    %% Link Styling
    linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:gray;

The "Computable Consciousness" Hypothesis

graph TD
    %% Styling
    classDef question fill:#fff2cc,stroke:#d6b656,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef turing fill:#d5e8d4,stroke:#82b366,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef penrose fill:#f8cecc,stroke:#b85450,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef neutral fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;

    %% TOP LEVEL: The Fundamental Question
    Universe[The Physical Universe]:::neutral --> Q{Is Reality
Computable?}:::question

    %% LEFT BRANCH: The "Yes" Path (Hassabis's Bet)
    %% Added 
 to prevent title truncation
    subgraph Turing_Hypothesis ["The Turing Hypothesis
(Hassabis's Bet)"]
        direction TB
        Info[Physics IS
Information Processing]:::turing
        Sim[Brain CAN be
Simulated]:::turing
        AGI[AGI = Human Level Mind]:::turing

        subgraph The_Goal ["The Ultimate Scientific Goal"]
            Experiment[Build AGI to
Compare with Humans]:::neutral
            Reveal[Reveal the Nature
of Consciousness]:::turing
        end

        Info --> Sim --> AGI --> Experiment --> Reveal
    end

    %% RIGHT BRANCH: The "No" Path
    %% Added 
 to prevent title truncation
    subgraph Non_Computable ["The Non-Computable View
(e.g. Penrose)"]
        direction TB
        Quantum[Quantum Effects
in the Brain]:::penrose
        Magic["Biological 'Magic'
(Non-replicable)"]:::penrose
        Limit[AI hits a
Hard Ceiling]:::penrose

        Quantum --> Magic --> Limit
    end

    %% CONNECTIONS
    Q -- "Yes" --> Info
    Q -- "No" --> Quantum

    %% STYLING LINKS
    linkStyle 0,1,2 stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;

Sources

• The future of intelligence | Demis Hassabis (Co-founder and CEO of DeepMind)