I finally understand what AGI actually means… and it’s all thanks to a new paper from some of the biggest names in AI Yoshua Bengio, Dawn Song, Max Tegmark, Eric Schmidt, and others.
For years, everyone’s been throwing the term AGI around like it’s some mystical milestone. But this paper finally pins it down with a definition that actually makes sense.
They describe Artificial General Intelligence as an 'AI that can match the cognitive versatility and proficiency of a well-educated adult.'
No marketing spin. No vague “human-level” claims. Just a clear benchmark based on how human intelligence actually works.
The researchers built their framework around something called the Cattell–Horn–Carroll model, which psychologists use to measure human cognitive ability. It breaks intelligence down into ten areas things like reasoning, memory, math, language, perception, and speed.
Then they did something bold: they tested real AI models against those same standards.
And here’s what they found:
- GPT-4 scored 27% toward AGI.
- GPT-5 jumped to 58%.
In other words, the latest model performs at more than half the cognitive range of an average human adult.
But it’s not there yet.
The biggest weakness? Long-term memory both GPT-4 and GPT-5 scored 0% in the ability to store and recall new information over time.
So yes, we’re making real progress.
But we’re still missing something fundamental the ability to remember and learn continuously.
What’s incredible about this paper is that it finally gives us a way to track that progress.
For the first time ever, AGI has a number.
And right now, we’re sitting at 58%.