Wayan Vota kozma test agi In 1950, Alan Turing famously proposed the “Turing Test” to measure machine intelligence. If a machine could engage in a conversation indistinguishable from a human, it could be said to possess intelligence. This test sparked decades of research in artificial intelligence (AI), but in 2024, it feels incomplete. Today’s AI has achieved remarkable feats in machine learning, natural language processing, and pattern recognition, but these victories—while impressive—do little to address humanity’s biggest problems. It is not enough that AI can talk, paint, or play chess better than us. So what? The real test for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) should be more profound and significantly impact the human existence. Robert Kozma, a visionary I am humbled to call a friend, poses an intriguing idea in his LinkedIn article: Why not use the challenge of ending poverty as a litmus test for AGI? Inspired by his bold proposition, I propose a new “Kozma Test for AGI”: We have achieved true AGI when an AI system can devise solutions that significantly reduce or end poverty—something that we, as humans, have yet to accomplish despite centuries of effort. AGI and Global Poverty Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) refers to AI systems that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge in a generalized way, just like humans. Turing’s original test was a product of its time, focused on language and interaction because those were the benchmarks of intelligence during the 20th century. However, humanity’s greatest challenges in the 21st century are no longer limited to intellectual discourse or technical tasks. They are existential and global: climate change, income inequality, disease, and, at the core of many of these issues, poverty. Ending poverty is arguably the most essential and ambitious of all global goals. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #1 is to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.” Yet, more than 600 million people worldwide still live in extreme poverty. Poverty isn’t merely about the lack of financial resources. It intersects with education, healthcare, political instability, and environmental degradation. Any entity that can solve the poverty puzzle must be able to comprehend and intervene in this complex system, integrating social, political, and economic knowledge. Why We Need the Kozma Test AGI’s potential is enormous, but without clear ethical and practical goals, it risks becoming just another tool for profit or control, rather than a force for good. The Kozma Test for AGI is a practical and ethical evolution of the Turing Test. In the original test, success is measured by an AI’s ability to “think” like a human. But we now know that mere mimicry of human conversation or logic is not enough. We need an AGI that can outthink humans in areas where we have historically failed, like poverty, a persistent blight across centuries and continents. Poverty remains one of the most intractable problems for modern society. This challenge demands AGI systems that can analyze vast amounts of data, recognize patterns, and predict outcomes far beyond human ability. But more than that, it would need to offer solutions that are not only technically feasible but socially and politically acceptable—a technology that serves humanity rather than disrupts it. Passing the Kozma Test Building an AGI that passes the Kozma Test would require a radical rethinking of how we approach both artificial intelligence development and social policy. It demands an interdisciplinary effort, drawing on economics, sociology, political science, and philosophy, integrated with cutting-edge AI techniques. AGI must solve technical puzzles and understand the nuances of human life and societal systems in ways that even the most advanced AI today cannot. In this sense, the Kozma Test isn’t just a marker for AGI—it’s a vision for a better future. It would be a milestone in technological progress and in the pursuit of human dignity and equity. When AI can solve what we haven’t—ending poverty—it will indeed be better than us. And only then can we declare that we’ve achieved true Artificial General Intelligence.