{"id":6301,"date":"2026-04-16T23:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/6301\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T23:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:00:25","slug":"what-is-jagged-intelligence-and-how-can-it-reframe-the-ai-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/6301\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is \u2018Jagged Intelligence\u2019 and How Can It Reframe the AI Debate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say what you will about whether artificial intelligence will one day be as smart as a human. It has already become a star math student. Last summer, A.I. built by Google and OpenAI correctly answered<\/a> five of six complex questions at the International Math Olympiad, an annual competition for the world\u2019s top high school students.<\/p>\n

A.I.\u2019s common sense, however, may still be a bit lacking. A few months later, Anuradha Weeraman, a software engineer in Sri Lanka, noticed that leading A.I. systems struggled to answer what was essentially a trick question that most people would find laughably simple. When he told various chatbots that he needed to take his car to a repair shop that was only 50 meters away and asked if he should walk or drive, the bots told him to walk.<\/p>\n

The strange way that A.I. looks like a genius at one moment and dense in another is what researchers, engineers and economists call \u201cjagged intelligence.\u201d They use this term to explain why A.I is racing ahead in some areas \u2014 like math<\/a> and computer programming<\/a> \u2014 while still struggling to make headway in others.<\/p>\n

The term, which is widely used by the people building A.I. and analyzing its effects, could help reframe the debate over whether these systems are becoming as smart as, or even smarter than, humans. Instead, researchers argue, A.I. is something completely different: far better than humans at some tasks and far worse at others.<\/p>\n

Understanding those strengths and weaknesses can also help economists get a better handle on what A.I. means for the future of employment. While entry-level programmers have reason to worry about their jobs, for example, it is not so clear \u2014 at least right now \u2014 how A.I. will affect other work. But watching where A.I. starts to make rapid improvements could help predict what kinds of jobs will be affected by the technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe performance of these systems varies, and it is not easy to tell when they will fail to do things a human can do,\u201d Mr. Weeraman said.<\/p>\n

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