Superintelligence: definition and meaning
Superintelligence is an intellect that far exceeds the best human minds in nearly every field, not in one narrow skill.
The standard definition comes from philosopher Nick Bostrom (1998 and 2014). The idea goes back to I. J. Good’s “ultraintelligent machine” of 1965.
No existing AI system meets that definition as of October 2026. The word is back in the news because AI companies now name superintelligence as a goal, and lawmakers have introduced bills to ban it. This site explains what the word means, where it came from, and how it is used, with a source for every claim.
Guides
7 guides, from the original definitions to the current debate. Each one lists its sources and the date it was last checked.
What is superintelligence?
The standard definition, where it came from, and what it does not mean.
AGI vs superintelligence
Narrow AI, AGI and superintelligence compared, with each lab's definition of AGI.
How AI companies define superintelligence
Each major lab's own wording on superintelligence, with dates and links.
Types of superintelligence
Speed, collective and quality superintelligence, and the other main taxonomies.
The intelligence explosion and the singularity
Where the runaway-AI idea came from, and why critics doubt it.
Superintelligence timelines
What labs, surveys and forecasters have predicted, listed with dates and sources.
The superintelligence debate
The safety concern, the skeptics, the public statements and the proposed bans.
Superintelligence, AGI, and AI: how are they different?
Artificial intelligence is the broad field. Most AI in use today is narrow: it does one kind of task, sometimes better than any person.
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) usually means roughly human-level ability across many kinds of tasks. Companies and researchers define it differently, and some definitions sit close to superintelligence.
Superintelligence, sometimes called artificial superintelligence or ASI, means far beyond human level across nearly all of them. The AGI vs superintelligence guide compares the definitions side by side.
What this site does not do
It does not forecast when superintelligence will arrive or argue that it will or should. When a guide reports a prediction, it says who made it and when, and it reports the people who disagree. The glossary defines 36 terms that come up in the debate.