OpenAI's $20,000 AI Agent, Nauru Sells Citizenship for Relocation, and Eric Schmidt Opposes AGI Manhattan Project

We're experimenting and would love to hear from you!

In this episode of ‘Discover Daily’ by Perplexity, we delve into the latest developments in tech and geopolitics. OpenAI is set to revolutionize its business model with the introduction of advanced AI agents, offering monthly subscription plans ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. These agents are designed to perform complex tasks autonomously, leveraging advanced language models and decision-making algorithms. This move is supported by a significant $3 billion investment from SoftBank, highlighting the potential for these agents to contribute significantly to OpenAI's future revenue.

The Pacific island nation of Nauru is also making headlines with its controversial 'golden passport' scheme. For $105,000, individuals can gain citizenship and visa-free access to 89 countries. This initiative aims to fund Nauru's climate change mitigation efforts, as the island faces existential threats from rising sea levels. However, the program raises ethical concerns about criminal exploitation, vetting issues, and the commodification of national identity. As Nauru navigates these challenges, it will be crucial to monitor the program's effectiveness in providing necessary funds for climate adaptation without compromising national security or ethical standards.

Our main story focuses on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's opposition to a U.S. government-led 'Manhattan Project' for developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Schmidt argues that such a project could escalate international tensions and trigger a dangerous AI arms race, particularly with China. Instead, he advocates for a more cautious approach, emphasizing defensive strategies and international cooperation in AI advancement. This stance reflects a growing concern about the risks of unchecked superintelligence development and highlights the need for policymakers and tech leaders to prioritize AI safety and collaboration.

From Perplexity's Discover Feed:

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/openai-s-20000-ai-agent-nvz8rzw7TZ.ECGL9usO2YQ

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/nauru-sells-citizenship-for-re-mWT.fYg_Su.C7FVaMGqCfQ

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/eric-schmidt-opposes-agi-manha-pymGB79nR.6rRtLvcqONIA 

**Introducing Perplexity Deep Research:**

https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-deep-research 

Perplexity is the fastest and most powerful way to search the web. Perplexity crawls the web and curates the most relevant and up-to-date sources (from academic papers to Reddit threads) to create the perfect response to any question or topic you’re interested in.

Take the world's knowledge with you anywhere. Available on iOS and Android

Join our growing Discord community for the latest updates and exclusive content.

Follow us on:

• Instagram
• Threads
• X (Twitter)
• YouTube
• Linkedin

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Discover Daily, by Perplexity, your
AI-curated digest ofbreakthroughs in tech, science
and culture.
I'm Alex.
Today, we're exploring a rangeof topics, including Eric
Schmidt's opposition to an AGIManhattan project.
But first let's look at whatelse is happening across the

(00:24):
tech and geopolitical landscape.
Our first story today is aboutOpenAI's ambitious new AI agent
plans.
The company behind ChatGPT isset to introduce a line of AI
agents with monthly subscriptionplans ranging from $2,000 to

(00:45):
$20,000.
These agents are expected tocontribute up to 25% of OpenAI's
future revenue.
The pricing structure is tieredwith low-end agents at $2,000
per month, targeting high-incomeknowledge workers.
Mid-tier agents around $10,000for software development tasks,

(01:07):
and high-end agents up to$20,000, functioning as
PhD-level research assistants.
This move signals a significantshift in OpenAI's business
model.
The company anticipates thatagent products will make up 20%
to 25% of its total revenue inthe future.

(01:30):
This projection is supported bya major $3 billion investment
from SoftBank specifically foragent development this year.
These AI agents represent aleap in artificial intelligence
capability.
They're designed toautonomously perform complex
tasks, utilizing advancedlanguage models and

(01:54):
decision-making algorithms tointeract with digital
environments, execute actionsand solve problems with minimal
human intervention.
Moving on to our second storyminimal human intervention.
Moving on to our second story,we turn to the Pacific Island
nation of Nauru, which haslaunched a controversial Golden
Passport scheme to fund itsclimate change mitigation

(02:17):
efforts.
Nauru is now offeringcitizenship for $105,000 through
its Economic and ClimateResilience Citizenship Program.
This initiative providesvisa-free access to 89 countries
and is expected to generate$5.7 million in its first year,

(02:37):
potentially scaling up to $42million annually.
The urgency behind this programis clear.
Nauru, a tiny coral atoll withan average elevation of just
three metres above sea level,faces existential threats from
climate change, particularlyrising sea levels.

(02:58):
The island nation's limitedresources and small population
of around 10,000 make financinglarge-scale adaptation projects
particularly challenging.
Scale adaptation projectsparticularly challenging.
Funds from the CitizenshipProgram are earmarked for inland
relocation and infrastructuredevelopment, with the initial

(03:18):
relocation phase estimated tocost over $60 million.
President David Adiangemphasized that this initiative
is about securing a viablefuture for upcoming generations.
However, the program hassparked debate due to potential
risks and ethical concerns.

(03:39):
Critics worry about criminalexploitation, vetting issues and
the commodification of nationalidentity.
There are also concerns abouttransparency and the potential
for corruption in theapplication process.

(03:59):
Now let's dive into our mainstory of the day former Google
CEO Eric Schmidt's opposition toa US government-led Manhattan
project for developingartificial general intelligence,
or AGI.
Schmidt, along with other techleaders, has published a policy
paper titled SuperintelligenceStrategy that argues against a

(04:23):
government-led AGI developmentprogram modeled after the 1940s
atomic bomb project.
The paper outlines several keyconcerns.
Program modeled after the 1940satomic bomb project.
The paper outlines several keyconcerns.
First, schmidt and hisco-authors warn that a US-led
AGI Manhattan Project couldescalate international tensions

(04:43):
and potentially trigger adangerous AI arms race,
particularly with China.
They argue that rival nationsfearing a global power imbalance
in superintelligence mightresort to sophisticated cyber
attacks to disrupt US AIadvancements.
The authors also challenge theassumption that competitors

(05:05):
would simply accept an enduringimbalance or potential
existential threat rather thantaking preventive action.
This perspective marks asignificant shift in Schmidt's
stance on AI competition.
In the past, schmidt had beenmore supportive of aggressive AI
development.
However, this paper reflects agrowing concern about about the

(05:30):
risks of uncheckedsuperintelligence development.
He now advocates for a morecautious approach, emphasizing
defensive strategies andinternational cooperation in AI
advancement.
A key concept introduced in thepaper is mutual assured AI
malfunction.
This strategy draws parallelsto nuclear deterrence while

(05:53):
addressing the unique challengesof AGI development.
Mutual Assured AI Malfunctionsuggests proactively disabling
threatening AI projects.
Rather than waiting foradversaries to weaponize AGI,
the authors propose expandingcyber attack capabilities to

(06:14):
neutralize dangerous AIdevelopments in other nations
and limiting adversaries' accessto advanced AI chips and open
source models.
This approach represents ashift from winning the race to
superintelligence to deterringother countries from creating
potentially harmful AGI.
Instead of a high-stakes racefor AGI supremacy, schmidt and

(06:43):
his co-authors advocate for amore measured defensive strategy
that prioritizes AI safety,focuses on deterring hostile AI
development and promotesinternational cooperation.
They argue that fosteringcollaboration and shared safety
standards could lead to morestable and beneficial outcomes
in the long-term pursuit of AGI.

(07:09):
That wraps up today's episode ofDiscover Daily.
Our new deep research feature,launched earlier this month, now
analyzes hundreds of sources inminutes.
Think of it as deploying apersonal research team through
our web and mobile platforms.
This cutting-edge tool combinesautonomous reasoning with rapid

(07:31):
processing to deliverexhaustive reports on
specialized topics.
Deep research excels atexpert-level tasks across
various domains, from financeand marketing to product
research, and is available onour desktop and mobile apps.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be back with more storiesthat shape our world.

(07:55):
Until then, stay curious.