A Three-stage Approach for Developing Superintelligence

I have persistently asked the question, “How would we create a superintelligent agent?”—an intelligent agent, much more than an AI algorithm, but rather a being that can think, reason, question and perhaps one day assert themself. I’m talking about a genuine artificial lifeform possessing a level of mind and consciousness that’s comparable to our own. And, if I’m honest, despite the extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and machine and deep learning, we are still in the domain of philosophical discourse.

AI is not Consciousness

Yes, I know that sounds somewhat pessimistic, especially when we’re continuously bombarded with stories describing how AI will either save humanity or destroy it. Yet, whilst today’s technology is indeed impressive, we must stop confusing clever programming with consciousness (see Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it).

Artificial intelligence is assistive technology. It is clever software, with sophisticated algorithms and advanced learning techniques. It does not think. It does not possess consciousness. And despite the industry’s improper use of words such as “reasoning” and “understanding,” we must remain careful not to mistake simulation for awareness.

So, where do we even begin?

Trilogy of Assets

Well, we need a practical framework—an architectural blueprint, of sorts—that allows us to progressively develop artificial life in stages. Not unlike how biological life itself evolves and matures (see The Human Brain: A Blueprint for Superintelligence).

With this in mind, I offer a three-stage approach, namely my philosophical “Trilogy of Assets.” In simple terms, if we wish to create a superintelligent being, then we must first establish and define three primary assets:

1. The Body

2. The Brain

3. The Mind

Stage One: The Body

Let’s begin with the mechanics.

The ‘body’ forms the physical shell—if you like, the humanoid anatomy, where rudimentary abilities such as touch, vision, small, hearing and taste are integral. In a greater context, this is the stage where today’s robotics currently reside. Moreover, humanoids may be capable of walking, balancing, grasping objects and navigating environments. Some robots can recognise faces, identify voices and respond to basic commands. Others can run, jump and awkwardly dance in ways that make you simultaneously impressed and deeply uncomfortable.

But here’s the issue.

Human movement is not mechanical. The human body is flexible, adaptive and contextually aware. Your body constantly performs millions of subconscious corrections every second. You don’t consciously calculate balance while walking across a room—your central nervous system simply handles it. Nevertheless, have you ever seen a robot button a shirt?

And then there’s sensory perception.

Humans don’t simply “see” light patterns. We interpret the context, emotion, intent and danger instinctively. Likewise, hearing is not merely sound detection. We can identify sarcasm, urgency, fear and affection through subtle vocal intonation.

The challenge rests upon mimicking sensory functions accompanied with a state of self-awareness, so as to allow the humanoid to react accordingly.

Stage Two: The Brain

Once we have a functioning body, we need something capable of coordinating it.

This is where the “brain” comes into play and is wholly integral to the ‘body.’

Now, I’m not talking about mind and consciousness just yet. I mean the computational facets responsible for processing information, coordinating systems and facilitating adaptive behaviour.

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), machine learning systems and large language models already mimic certain aspects of human cognition albeit language-focused. Such units process information, identify patterns and improve performance through experience and data analysis.

Current AI systems operate through statistical probability and predictive computation. They analyse datasets and generate responses based on learned relationships between information. In essence, they are extraordinarily advanced pattern recognition systems. But they do not “understand” in the human sense.

I often liken today’s AI systems to someone who has memorised every sentence in a phrasebook without understanding the language itself. The responses may appear convincing, but there’s no awareness sitting within the architecture.

Nevertheless, this computational “brain” remains essential.

The human brain itself is a distributed processing system composed of billions of neurons and trillions of synaptic connections. It coordinates movement, perception, memory and bodily function across a massively interconnected biological network.

Likewise, our agent’s artificial brain would need to process sensory information, coordinate physical systems and adapt dynamically to changing environments.

And critically, it must remain resilient.

Humans can suffer significant trauma to the brain and still retain functionality. The brain reroutes pathways, compensates and adapts in astonishing ways.

Machines today are nowhere near as forgiving.

And, if we wish to create true artificial life, our systems must become far more adaptive and tolerant vis-à-vis self-sufficient.

Stage Three: The Mind

And now we arrive at the truly difficult bit: The Mind. With a reference to Cartesianism I strongly advocate Rene Descartes’ ‘dualism.’ The mind-body separation is perhaps the entry point to creating artificial life with intelligence

However, this is where engineering collides violently with philosophy, neuroscience and psychology.

What exactly is consciousness?

And perhaps more importantly, can it even be artificially engineered?

At present, nobody truly knows.

We can monitor electrical activity in the brain through MRI, fMRI and EEG technologies. We can observe which regions activate during speech, movement and problem solving.

But nowhere inside the brain can we isolate mind and consciousness itself.

My suspicion—and it’s merely conjecture at this stage—is that both mind and consciousness emerge from the collective activity of the brain as a holistic system.

In other words, the mind may not be directly programmed at all.

It may emerge through sufficient complexity, interaction and experience.

And if that’s true, then we face an entirely different challenge.

The Development Problem

Humans are not born fully conscious and self-aware.

Mind develops progressively through experience, social interaction, emotional growth and environmental stimulus. Children learn empathy, morality and self-recognition gradually over many years.

So, should our superintelligent agent undergo a similar developmental process?

I believe so.

In fact, I suspect this may be essential.

You cannot simply upload wisdom, emotional maturity and self-awareness into a machine where you can instal software onto a solid-state drive. Intelligence without context or emotional grounding could become dangerously unstable without the demarcation of social etiquette.

That’s a rather unsettling thought.

Perhaps our agent would need a form of childhood development—an experiential learning phase where the agent develops personality, behavioural understanding and social awareness organically.

Beyond Clever Programming

The uncomfortable reality is that we still don’t fully understand our own minds, yet we are ambitiously attempting to replicate them artificially.

That’s either wonderfully visionary or mildly insane.

Possibly both.

What’s clear, however, is that artificial life will not emerge from one magical breakthrough moment. It will require advances across neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, computing, robotics and engineering simultaneously.

And philosophy matters more than many engineers realise.

Because before we can build a mind, we must first answer a far older question:

“What does it actually mean to be conscious?”

Until Next Time…

Until then, we continue building the body, refining the brain and cautiously inching towards something that might one day resemble a genuine digital mind.

And perhaps, somewhere far beyond today’s technology, where our superintelligent agent quietly awaits.

So, this is where an “Intelligent designer” Dr G, signs off.