It could be considered consultancy if the AGI is capable of individual thought. Companies have some longer-term objectives but tend to focus their efforts on short-term gains to please investors.
There will be plenty of discussion around the ethics of using AGI in business. Whether it can be called "slavery" will depend on how like a human AGI turns out to be.

As long as the "smart person" is making money, they aren't going to care. Using that smart person to dominate all industries would be ludicrously difficult and put the company at a disadvantage to any other company that has a similar "smart person" but chooses to lease their time.

Yes, to the highest bidder. A "smart person" equivalent AI is still a very long way from 10,000 average people.

I'm aware. It's a precursor, we don't actually know where the line is for AGI.

Assuming it can optimize its own code. Humans can't exactly optimize themselves to run on better hardware. Even so, it wouldn't matter because access is already being distributed. GPT-4 is available to researchers and businesses and is currently being integrated into all kinds of products.

Until we find more efficient ways to run it or design better hardware, a single instance of an AGI will require all those hundreds of thousands of computers to run. ChatGPT was estimated in January to cost $3 million per month to run (Azure cloud resources) and it's still pretty far from an actual AGI.

The first instance of AGI isn't going to replace all those employees, it will only have the capacity of a single human. For this reason we'll see them start selling access to it (the trend has already begun) and then sell "personal assistants". Holding onto AGI until it's sufficient to replace all the company's workers would risk losing out to a competitor that releases theirs to the public. Once everyone has one of these personal assistants it's no longer possible to close AGI off to the world.

It stems from people having no clue what capitalism is. Automation has the potential to make things so cheap that no one cares about money outside of luxury products. It was hoped in the 50s that this would happen with nuclear energy (though it fizzled out for several reasons).

I think we'll eventually get there, no clue on a time range.

Near-term, probably glasses once they become practical. Long-term it'll be an implant.

The recent and incredibly rapid advancements in AI suggest we're far closer to AGI than anyone assumed a few years ago. The next 5 years will see radical changes to every facet of life, AI will act as an accelerator for progress in nearly every field.

Too likely to be rejected and risks polluting the body. Not to mention any damage cannot be repaired. The replaceable nature of cells is an advantage for longevity if we can improve their function.

Hold on for dear life and hope that it goes well. 2025 is obviously too close for humanity to adapt so there's very little an individual can do. While you mention that it's a made up estimate, I expect the singularity will come much sooner than the predicted 2045. AI is progressing substantially faster than computers did and we can only hope that our ability to integrate with it keeps pace. For reference, the original prediction assumed the pace of progress would track with Moore's law.

The positive lean is because this is state-owned media. The reality is they spent $24 billion with little to nothing to show. It doesn't matter how much money China throws at R&D, it will never lead in it.

> Is nuclear war more likely after Russia's suspension of the New START treaty?

No but Putin wants you to think so. It's more likely to result in the US producing more nukes.

> uses wat too much redundant power and scales up with people's greed, making it less efficient.

Proof of stake fixes this. The point of crypto's design was to be greed-driven so that everyone participating for their own benefit ends up benefiting the system as a whole.

Yes, but it will take time. Decentralization is a long-development technology much like AI has been. AI development started all the way back in the 50s and is only now becoming relevant to the average person (and it experienced many "winters").

China will create a crappy knock-off that will provide state-approved responses. It will have no useful impact on anyone and will be dropped.

Get quotes from your bank, other banks, credit unions, and Rocket Mortgage. See who offers the better deal.
Since you're a first time homebuyer it might be best to use the program in your state. If you're not buying rural property it's usually the best option and only requires 3.5% down.
Things to keep in mind when looking at houses:
Sellers will expect you to have "Earnest Money". You give this money to the title company and they hold it in an escrow account. There will be conditions in the contract on how the money is handled but it's usually non-refundable after your inspection is complete.
First time homebuyer programs only require 3.5% down but come with mortgage insurance requirements which can add hundreds to your monthly payment.
USDA loans are similar but with 0% down (they only apply to houses in rural areas).
Your lender will approve you "up to" a certain amount. You will end up taking out only as much as is needed to cover the house with your down payment and earnest money. There's no reason for you or your realtor to tell the seller/their realtor how much you were pre-approved for (they only need to know that you were pre-approved).
Take your time, some realtors will try to push you to close quickly. They want a fast sale more than they want the right sale.
Sellers and their realtors will use shady tactics such as claiming another offer came in after you make an offer to try and get you to bid higher. Don't panic bid and don't get too attached to the prospect of a particular house.
This is your first house, not your forever home.

Private schools are given extreme leniency in how they operate and what they can teach. They can make up whatever rules they wish so long as they don't violate the law.

This is easily one of the dumbest circus acts I've ever seen. Just ban it, anything else is a waste of time.

Programs by governments to influence foreign opinion.
If you want some current examples, check out /r/ActiveMeasures.

Trouble is that EE is one of the hardest engineering degrees and pay isn't great compared to other fields. Hopefully the latter will change as time goes on.

Which is why the IRA was created. China's manufacturing dominance will end this decade.

The collection of private user data by a foreign adversary. It's used in influence operations.