Gary Marcus - Author

Gary Marcus

Contributor, The Yuan

Gary Marcus is a scientist, best-selling author, and serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Robust.AI and Geometric.AI, acquired by Uber. He is well-known for his challenges to contemporary AI, anticipating many of the current problems decades in advance, and for his research in human language development. An Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU, he is the author of five books, Rebooting AI (with Ernest Davis), The Algebraic Mind, Kluge, The Birth of the Mind, and Guitar Zero, and has often contributed to The New Yorker, Wired, and The New York Times.His most recent book, co-authored with Ernest Davis, Rebooting AI, is one of Forbes’s 7 Must Read Books in AI.

New era

AI risk should not be conflated with AGI risk, though both are dangerous

Superintelligence may or may not be imminent, but great cause for concern exists either way, and one should first understand the differences between AI risk and AGI risk, explains AI expert Prof Gary Marcus, co-host of the podcast Humans versus Machines.

Gary Marcus | May 10, 2023

Cognition

GPT-4 has achieved many successes, yet also has many failings

Many are wondering how GPT-4 fits into the larger tapestry of the quest for artificial general intelligence (AGI). To understand this, not only should one know which tasks it performs well, but also its shortcomings and why these are problematic.

Gary Marcus | Apr 04, 2023

New era

Does GPT-4 augur the spark of AGI or end of science?

Marching into the future with an obstructed view is a bad idea, yet that seems to be happening with the rollout of GPT-4. For any of this to live up to its potential, there must be more transparency so the scientific community can identify areas of improvement and mitigate risks.

Gary Marcus | Mar 29, 2023

New era

Inside the heart of ChatGPT’s darkness: Nightmare on LLM Street

As ChatGPT keeps making waves and more is known about its abilities - and its shortfalls - terrifying possibilities loom, particularly if OpenAI cannot fix its bugs. Still, even if the bot goes down in history as nothing but a publicity stunt it has already redefined possibility.

Gary Marcus | Feb 28, 2023

New era

Is Microsoft’s big bet on OpenAI a slam dunk or long shot?

Amid the razzmatazz surrounding ChatGPT, several big players like Microsoft are wagering on this and other promising AI tech. This is risky but not necessarily foolhardy. The coming months will show whether these investments prove wise, says best-selling AI author, entrepreneur, and NYU Prof Gary Marcus.

Gary Marcus | Feb 06, 2023

New era

Is ChatGPT really a ‘code red’ for Google Search? Maybe not

ChatGPT has lately been the focus of a great deal of buzz and great expectations, though its real capabilities and limitations also warrant attention, especially when compared to Google’s search engine. AI scientist, best-selling author, and serial entrepreneur Gary Marcus cuts through all the ballyhoo in quest of answers.

Gary Marcus | Feb 02, 2023

Optimization

An epic AI Debate - and why everyone should fret over AI in 2023

A time capsule of AI thought leaders participating in a video debate in 2022 serves up a bounty of food for thought that will remain of interest for years to come. AI holds plenty of promise, but major grounds for concern are its less benevolent aspects and the inescapable reality that it still falls far short.

Gary Marcus | Jan 24, 2023

New era

What to expect when one is expecting...GPT-4

ChatGPT became a sensation last year for its ability to spit out human-like text in response to questions. This year is almost certain to see the release of GPT-4, which promises to be even more impressive. Will GPT-4 represent the next step on the path to even greater advances, or will it be a major breakthrough in and of itself?

Gary Marcus | Jan 09, 2023

Metaverse

What does Meta AI’s diplomacy-winning Cicero mean for AI? (Hint: It’s not all about scaling)

Meta’s new AI, called Cicero, is able to successfully strategize and negotiate with humans in playing the game Diplomacy, and it may have the potential to surpass other AI that play games such as Go and chess. Nevertheless, much remains unknown, and it could be a long time before its implications for AI as a whole are fully understood.

Gary Marcus, Ernest Davis | Dec 13, 2022

New era

Alt intelligence is the new science

AI has lost its way, and the world must take a step back and reassess the situation. Too often, the reality of new AI has failed to live up to the hype, and so one must take a closer look at just what exactly AI is capable of, what is still beyond it, and why. Only then will efficient future breakthroughs be possible.

Gary Marcus | Jul 25, 2022