Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls AGI a marketing term, echoing Altman's view
The AI community has grown weary of a word that shows up on every press release and investor deck. While startups tout breakthroughs, investors and journalists alike keep circling back to a single label that promises everything from self‑driving code to human‑level reasoning. That label has become a shorthand for ambition, but also a source of frustration for those building the technology day in, day out.
Anthropic, the Amazon‑backed firm that recently announced a new open‑source model, sits at the center of this debate. Its chief executive, Dario Amodei, has spoken openly about his discomfort with the term, calling it a marketing construct. Across the valley, OpenAI’s Sam Altman dismissed the phrase as “not a super useful term” in August, and Google’s chief scientist Jeff Dean has hinted he “tends” to avoid it as well.
The convergence of these high‑profile voices suggests a broader shift: the industry may be moving past hype toward a more measured vocabulary. Below, Amodei puts his view into his own words.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Amazon-backed Anthropic, has said publicly that he "dislike[s] the term AGI" and that he's "always thought of it as a marketing term." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in August that it's "not a super useful term." Jeff Dean, Google's chief scientist and Gemini lead, has said he "tend[s] to steer away from AGI conversations." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said we're getting "a little bit ahead of ourselves with all this AGI hype," and that at the end of the day, "self-claiming some AGI milestone" is "just nonsensical benchmark hacking." He also said on a recent earnings call that he doesn't believe that "AGI as defined, at least by us in our contract, is ever going to be achieved anytime soon." In its place, they're pushing a cornucopia of competing terminology.
The piece makes clear that a growing chorus of AI leaders now treats “AGI” as more slogan than substance. Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief, openly calls the phrase a marketing term, while Sam Altman has called it “not a super useful term.” Even Google’s Jeff Dean, overseeing Gemini, echoes that sentiment. Across the industry, the buzz around other catch‑phrases—“Rizz,” the “6‑7” moniker—has already faded, suggesting a pattern of rapid lexical turnover.
What replaces “artificial general intelligence,” if anything, remains uncertain; companies appear eager to shed language that fuels hype without delivering clear technical milestones. The article stops short of projecting a new consensus, leaving readers with the impression that the community is currently re‑evaluating its terminology. Whether this shift will lead to more precise discourse or simply another round of rebranding is still unclear.
Further Reading
- Anthropic CEO Says AGI Is a 'Marketing Term' - Business Insider
- Anthropic CEO wants to open the black box of AI models by 2027 - TechCrunch
- Anthropic CEO Makes Radical New AI Predictions - Marketing AI Institute
- Machines of Loving Grace - Dario Amodei
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Common Questions Answered
Why does Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei consider the term AGI a marketing term?
Dario Amodei has publicly stated that he dislikes the term AGI because he views it as a buzzword used to hype products rather than a precise technical description. He believes the label creates unrealistic expectations and distracts from the actual progress being made in AI research.
How do other AI leaders like Sam Altman and Jeff Dean view the usefulness of the AGI label?
Both Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Jeff Dean, Google's chief scientist, have expressed skepticism toward the AGI term, calling it not particularly useful or something they steer away from. Their comments align with a broader industry sentiment that the term is more hype than substance.
What recent development from Anthropic is highlighted in the article alongside the discussion of AGI?
The article mentions that Anthropic, the Amazon‑backed firm, recently announced a new open‑source AI model. This release demonstrates the company's focus on tangible advancements rather than abstract labels like AGI.
What pattern does the article suggest about AI industry buzzwords such as "Rizz" and "6‑7"?
The piece notes that catch‑phrases like "Rizz" and the "6‑7" moniker have already faded from prominence, indicating a rapid turnover of lexical trends. This pattern supports the view that terms like AGI may similarly lose relevance as the industry evolves.