Ben Goertzel
TL;DR Ben Goertzel is a leading figure in artificial general intelligence, known for pioneering open-source AGI research and building some of the most ambitious projects at the intersection of AI, biology, and decentralized technology.
Ben Goertzel is one of the most well-known and unconventional thinkers in the pursuit of artificial general intelligence. With a career spanning mathematics, cognitive science, AI research, biotech, and decentralized systems, he has become a prominent advocate for open, collaborative approaches to building advanced intelligence. His work blends rigorous scientific exploration with a deep interest in philosophy, complex systems, and the long-term future of humanity.
Born in Brazil and raised in the United States, Ben Goertzel earned his PhD in mathematics before immersing himself in the emerging fields of cognitive architecture and machine intelligence. He is best known as the chief architect behind the OpenCog AGI framework, an ambitious open-source project designed to model general intelligence using symbolic reasoning, neural networks, evolutionary learning, and probabilistic logic.
Goertzel founded the SingularityNET platform, a decentralized AI marketplace intended to democratize access to AI services and prevent advanced intelligence from being controlled by a few corporations. He has also been deeply involved in robotics, serving as Chief Scientist of the Hanson Robotics team that created Sophia the Robot, one of the world’s most recognized social robots.
In addition to his work in AI, Goertzel has pursued research in longevity biotechnology and computational genomics, reflecting his belief that advanced AI should contribute to human health and the extension of human lifespan. A prolific speaker and author, he regularly discusses AGI theory, consciousness, transhumanism, and how decentralized and bio-inspired approaches might shape future intelligence.
Founder and CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized platform for interoperable AI
Chief architect of the OpenCog AGI framework, one of the longest-running open-source AGI projects
Chief Scientist at Hanson Robotics, contributing to the development of Sophia the Robot
Leader in AGI research, with work spanning symbolic reasoning, probabilistic logic, neural systems, and cognitive architectures
Contributor to longevity and biotech research, including computational approaches to aging and genomics
Author and thought leader, known for extensive writing on AGI, transhumanism, and the future of intelligence
Long-time advocate for open, democratic, and decentralized AI development
