Verizon CEO Predicts AGI Within 18 Months

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman has presented an aggressive timeline for the advancement of artificial intelligence, predicting that artificial general intelligence (AGI) could emerge within the next six to 18 months. Speaking at the Ford Pro Accelerate event in Detroit, Schulman stated that current AI models represent the "worst models we'll ever use in our lives," emphasizing a "step function change" in model power occurring every two months. He further projected that the "era of quantum" will arrive two years after AGI, describing it as a thousand-fold increase in capability over current technology. By 2030 or 2035, Schulman anticipates the development of "pretty good forms of humanoid robotics." He summarized this period of rapid transformation by stating, "we've got a decade of intense change ahead of us," and elaborated that progress typically achieved over a century will likely occur within the next five to 10 years, leading to what he termed the "collapse of the 21st century." AGI refers to AI systems capable of reasoning and performing tasks across a wide range of domains, rather than excelling at specific, isolated functions. Schulman posited that the economic and social impacts of AI will manifest at a pace that challenges existing mechanisms for technological absorption, including educational systems, labor markets, corporate adjustments, and public policy frameworks. He described these future machines as being able to perform many human tasks more effectively than they are currently executed. The anticipated changes are expected to significantly impact Verizon, a company with over 250,000 employees and contractors. Schulman indicated that Verizon will need to transition from a workforce structured around "very defined roles and functions" to a "much more fluid organization" to adapt to the incoming technological wave. He acknowledged that safeguards will be implemented around this powerful technology, though the specifics of these safeguards were not detailed in the provided context. The CEO's outlook suggests a fundamental reshaping of industries and society driven by AI's accelerating capabilities, with implications for workforce management, innovation cycles, and the very pace of human progress.