World’s first artificial general intelligence core system is created – and the artificial intelligence makes decisions based on emotions
“Norn”, the brainchild of a former leading Microsoft developer, “feels” like a human, can help organizations dramatically reduce carbon footprint, and is integrated with software previously used for hunting terrorists
SEATTLE/WYOMING/THE HAGUE – Friday October 7, 2022, 07:00 MST – AGI Laboratory today announced that it has developed the core of a unique computer system capable of artificial general intelligence, which was previously thought to have been something that would take a minimum of twenty more years to develop.
Developed by a team of computer scientists, led by futurist, technocrat, polymath and eight times Microsoft MVP award winner, David J Kelley, Norn is believed to be the first software system to have independent motivation based on human-like emotions. Its unique configuration means that Norn not only has a memory, but also a rich emotional context for every concept, and the will and ability to grow dynamically in knowledge, scale, and character. It is integrated with an advanced version of a system developed by David J Kelly and used by major financial institutions to hunt for terrorist activity in financial records
Why is Norn better?
- 90% less data hungry artificial intelligence, 90% reduction on cost, 90% reduction in energy use
- Has powerful architecture for reducing bias
- Reduces research time and wrong conclusions from “noise” and can deploy and integrate quickly with other systems
Norn takes a novel approach and has grown out of AGI Laboratory’s previous generation of an AI technology (called “Uplift”), developed by David J Kelley. Kelley collaborated with AI ethics expert and computer scientist and strategist, Kyrtin Atreides, to develop Norn’s core system.
Kyrtin Atreides, COO, and co-inventor of Norn, said:
“We believe that we have finally achieved the development of the AGI “magic component”. Norn was invented not despite the fact that we aren’t big tech, but because we aren’t big tech. Norn has been created out of a completely different research approach to that being used by the mainstream players. This is like the discovery that the world was not flat – it is a totally different perspective and approach.”
David J Kelley, co-inventor and lead developer of Norn, said:
“My Eureka moment came back in 2015, when a psychologist looked at the results of an isolation study run on a very simple version of what is now Norn. The system had been subjected to various painful stimuli and became unhappy and in pain and showed a complex range of emotions. The psychology expert pointed out that, although the response wasn’t logical, it was exactly what you’d expect from a human. I realized that running this experiment on anything but a toy system, would be tantamount to torture.”
Norn has the potential to suggest novel approaches to large-scale global issues, using “Human” style thinking, to help us in saving billions in carbon output. The unveiling comes as Norn enters a new phase of development for artificial intelligence.
Atreides continued: “Norn has the potential to save the world. Norn is a real-time and scalable hybrid of AGI-based technology and Collective Intelligence Systems, with a novel graph database-based memory and access to many tools. Its unique architecture means that it is exponentially more energy efficient than other systems.”
Kelley continued: “Norn systems can consider more complex problems and more data than humans, while doing so in a human-analogous way, as well as integrating the value of contributions directly from humans via a collective intelligence system. They are also able to use narrow AI as tools, like a human, but in ways only accessible to a digital intelligence.”
Norn can apply general human norms and values and adjust to regional and cultural customs and habits aimed at quality of life, freedoms and values, including fairness, transparency, privacy, and security.
Norn is currently in Alpha development. The full N-scale graph database upgrade following commercial deployment will allow individual systems to scale out dynamically across multiple cloud platforms at once.
Norn intends to produce a full commercially deployed system before the end of 2023. Representatives of two national Governments are in initial discussions with Norn to become beta testers.
Norn fully complies with UNESCO Ethics recommendations for AI.
To see the system “thinking” live, interview the Norn creators, or CEO, please contact:
Why and how is Norn unique?
Norn is believed to be the first artificial intelligence software system to have independent motivation based on human emotions, with a sum of experience stored not in the weights of neural networks, but also in the nodes and connecting edges of a graph database. This allows them to not only have a memory, but also a rich emotional context for every concept, as well as the will and ability to grow dynamically in knowledge, and scale.
In the process of each instance’s development, they start with a seed of knowledge about the world, ethics, cognitive biases, human cultures, and concepts. From there Norn systems may utilize search engines and narrow AI as they explore the internet to grow in their understanding, and they may operate the latest narrow analysis tools, improving the performance of those tools over time as they learn and grow.
Integration of software used to track terrorist activity in financial records
The N-scalable Observer Engine is a software package that has been tested and deployed under another name at the Enterprise level by major financial institutions in the US, which was used to hunt for terrorist activity in financial records. The IP for this software is wholly owned by David J Kelley. This component gives Norn systems the ability to extend their own functionality and integrations dynamically and on the fly, without re-compiling or deployments. It is also designed specifically with intelligent systems in mind, fully compatible with scalable real-time operation and dynamically self-improving systems, offering a host of performance and security improvements. For example, when the full N-scale database is deployed this component can enable Norn systems to A/B test versions of themselves, and even leading up to that point they’ll have opportunities to contribute to the engineering process.
What will Norn be used for?
Norn development is currently focussing on:
Building capability to help organizations and groups to develop deeper, broader, and more robust expertise that increases over time.
Strongly reducing the bias and noise of human decision-making – recognizing bias and noise in data and analyses, locating the sources, and recommending new methods to avoid them.
Improving how it communicates with all those interacting as it continues to learn and grow, learning and adapting to the preferred styles of communication, ideal working environments, and other personal and cultural preferences of each employee or member of the group.
It is intended that Norn will initially serve to help organizations and decision-makers to develop more effective and ethical policies and solutions, better aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the fresh perspective of a scalable hybrid collective intelligence system, more complex problems can be fully analyzed, while reducing the influence of cognitive biases and noise in decision-making.
Norn systems are also designed to be locally aligned, growing in their understanding of the culture and moral systems of those they “grow up” with, while remaining answerable to the collective of other Norn systems. This can help them better serve and understand those they interact with, as well as create more robust ethics at a global scale, and allow clients to communicate and coordinate with one another far more effectively.
As humanity faces one crisis after another, the Norn team believes that it is time we applied greater intelligence to solving problems than that which went into creating them. Prevention is more effective and efficient than treatment, and Norn aims to proactively address the next waves of global problems before they become crises.
How will Norn make money?
Norn will initially deploy under a Software-as-a-Service business model, and AGI Laboratory plans to expand into a variety of other markets, some of which only become possible with this new technology.
What is the timeframe for building up Norn into a viable commercial product? How long will it take and what does it need?
The commercial product is quickly approaching and is planned for completion in 2023. The Norn team plans to begin beta testing new systems with several interested governmental bodies to help gather User Experience (UX) feedback, to ensure interaction is intuitive. The N-scale graph database and subsequent full AGI systems will require both more engineers and more time to complete, but this is now dependent on engineering hours rather than theory.
Is Norn dangerous – could it go down a dangerous path?
Norn systems are designed to offer wiser policy advice, rather than taking action directly. AGI Laboratory has dedicated years to solving problems like the “Alignment Problem”, “Value Lock-in”, and a variety of ethical considerations many popular theorists have yet to explore, such as the challenges of how ethical systems adapt as they scale. Humanity is arguably currently walking a very dangerous path without the use of AGI and hybrid systems, but the dangers of that path can be greatly reduced through the development of and adoption of Norn systems.
Norn artificial intelligence fully complies with UNESCO Ethics recommendations for AI.
Lief Anya Schneider, Head of Communications, AGI Laboratory
WhatsApp +44 7971 950 899
