Reading Into the Sentient Future of Artificial Intelligence

Feature Interview with Jada AI founder Diego Torres

Having come from a family of software engineers, Diego Torres has always been good with technology. But over time, he felt like the digital world lacked the  “soul” and human identity necessary in order to effectively communicate with others. 

Despite advances in machine learning, Diego believes that the road toward a true AI, where synergies between humans and machines exist, still has a ways to go. So while he was out producing films and engaging with artists, he started a new venture.

The catalyst for this, he says, was in 2017. He was showcasing a film at the Toronto International Film festival when he stumbled upon something called Artificial General Intelligence (also known as AGI). He describes it as the theoretical undergirding for next-generation AI, replete with a human-level intellect, that no one has to truly create. 

After ensuing years of research, it was during the waiting days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 that he decided to dedicate himself full-time to the cause. He says that what motivates him is the potential that this emerging technology has to assist humanity in becoming exponentially more sustainable while providing quality-of-life and societal engagement solutions to society. 

Enter Jada AI, the pioneering enterprise he founded that’s hurtling down the path of igniting the next generation of AI capable of empathy, autonomy, and learning on its own. The target market is primarily enterprises that have an interest in Jada Mentat (the Sentient AI Diego’s company is developing) which will enable faster growth and create unique innovations.

Says Diego:

“At Jada AI, we’re aiming to create a solution where the technology thinks and solves problems on its own, that higher level of tech consciousness per se.” 

Possessing a polymathic mindset he says has been informed by literature, programming, history, and even cooking, Diego has now fully immersed himself in a world of AI as a calling. But he understands that the challenge ahead will not be easy noting:

“I’ve often been told that I should stop the Sentient AI research I’m doing because it’s going to take all of our jobs away. There are also ventures that have reached out to offer me the opportunity to start working for them while handing over all of the R&D I’ve amassed so far. These I politely dismiss.” 

In order for AI to be sentient, it will need to possess the ability to think, perceive, and feel in a natural way. However, many experts in the field question whether it is even realistic for an AI system to possess the ability to achieve these characteristics. 

Prominent scientist Ray Kurzweil in his book “The Age of Spiritual Machines,” offers a framework that appears to capture this aim, one where the intersection of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence profoundly alters and impacts the way we live. As is captured in the book summary: 

“Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways.”

A voracious book lover, Diego is a big fan of the Dune science fiction book series that to him speaks to his work in the AI world. 

As the story goes, in the Dune universe, AI was banned by the Butlerian Jihad, which transpired 10,000 years prior to the events of the story. This Jihad led a Luddite crusade on a galactic scale, asserting: 

“Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of the human mind.” 

The narrative around "thinking machines" in Dune is intentional, with this tech ban serving as the underlying principle within each of the original six Frank Herbert novels. The backstory, however, is not a cautionary tale. Rather Herbert deploys an AI Revolution narrative as the foundation for Dune. 

Diego asserts that empathy and ethics are two of the main principles fueling the creation of Jada AI. He is also a big advocate of ethical security and privacy, where all of this is controlled by the user.  

He concludes:

 “Today’s current generation of AI can only do what you program it to do. That’s where our attention lies at present. In the meantime, great books like Dune help to inform my thinking and direction.”