The value of humans lies in creativity and imagination : Turing Award Laureate

By Harry Wu, 21st Century Business Herald, SFC

There is a definition of AGI, which is a machine that can outperform any human for any task. But it is not as “intelligent” as a human, said Joseph Sifakis, 2007 A.M. Turing Award Laureate and Founder of the Verimag laboratory, at the 2025 Sustainability Global Leaders Conference held from October 16th to 18th in Shanghai.

What will be the value of human beings in AGI world? Sifakis explained that “humans can be very bad at solving particular problems, but they can combine an infinity of solutions.” Sifakis believes the value of humans lies in creativity and imagination.

Whether or not AI surpasses human intelligence, the world will be reshaped. Sifakis warned that AI, unlike previous technologies, can rival humans in its ability to generate and apply knowledge. Therefore, it could have profound implications for individual identity, as well as for economic and social organizations, but its benefits are proportional to its potential risks, Sifakis said.