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Microsoft researchers say the latest model of OpenAI's GPT "is a significant step towards AGI" artificial general intelligence, the longtime grail for AI developers.

The big picture: If you think of AI as a technology ascending (or being pushed up) a ladder, Microsoft's paper claims that GPT-4 has climbed several rungs higher than anyone thought.

Driving the news: Microsoft released the "Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence" study in March, and it resurfaced in a provocative New York Times story Tuesday.

Catch up quick: Three key terms to understand in this realm are generative AI, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and sentient AI.

GPT-4, ChatGPT, Dall-E and the other AI programs that have led the current industry wave are all forms of generative AI.

AGI has a variety of definitions, all centering on the notion of human-level intelligence that can evaluate complex situations, apply common sense, and learn and adapt.

Many experts, like Microsoft's authors, see a clear path from the context-awareness of today's generative AI to building a full AGI.

Beyond the goal of AGI lies the more speculative notion of "sentient AI," the idea that these programs might cross some boundary to become aware of their own existence and even develop their own wishes and feelings.

Virtually no one else is arguing that ChatGPT or any other AI today has come anywhere near sentience. But plenty of experts and tech leaders think that might happen someday, and that there's a slim chance such a sentient AI could go off the rails and wreck the planet or destroy the human species.

Our thought bubble: The questions these categories raise divide people into two camps.

The bottom line: For help navigating this landscape, you're likely to find as much value in the science fiction novels of Philip K. Dick as in the day's news.

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Where AI evolves from here - Axios