The core guide
What superintelligence is, how it differs from AI and AGI, the timelines and safety debates, who is building it, and a glossary.
What is superintelligence?
The established meaning of the word in AI research, where it comes from, why it is not a description of today's AI, and why it matters more now that the word is in the news.
Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026
Is AI the same as superintelligence?
No. "Super Intelligence" is the US administration's new name for AI in general; "superintelligence" in AI research means something that does not exist yet. Here is the difference, in plain English.
Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026What is AGI?
Artificial general intelligence, in plain English: what the term means, how it differs from today's AI and from superintelligence, and why the US administration's "Super Intelligence" is neither.
Last reviewed 23 Sept 2026AGI vs superintelligence: what's the difference?
The two upper rungs of the AI ladder, told apart in plain English, and why September 2026 made the words harder to use.
Last reviewed 23 Sept 2026Who is building superintelligence?
Which organisations say they are aiming at AGI or superintelligence, what each has said in its own words, and why the US administration's "Super Intelligence" label covers a much wider field.
Last reviewed 23 Sept 2026When could superintelligence happen?
What forecasters actually say about the arrival of AGI and superintelligence, why they disagree, and why the US administration's "Super Intelligence" label is not a forecast at all.
Last reviewed 23 Sept 2026
Superintelligence glossary: the words you will meet, in plain English
Short, accurate definitions of the terms used in discussions of AI, AGI and superintelligence, from alignment to context window, with the jargon kept to a minimum.
Last reviewed 23 Sept 2026