In 2020, Garcés founded The Mindkind in the town of Castejón de Sos (Huesca)
- Paula Ciordia @paulaciordia
- Zaragoza
- Journalist and philologist. She is a correspondent in Aragon.
- 12/01/2023 11:59
- Updated:12/01/2023 19:24
Mario Garcés is a computer scientist who claims that he is about to develop a unique technology in the world of general artificial intelligence (AI). OKDIARIO has spoken with this man from Madrid who has lived in the Aragonese Pyrenees for two decades to understand the technology that could revolutionize the way man and machine relate to one another.
His project is called " Human -like AAGI technology for autonomous machines " and has obtained important recognition and funding from the Government of Aragon and European funds.
The collaboration of the Technological Institute of Aragon (ITA) and the Center for Business and Innovation of Aragon (CEEI Aragón) has been essential so that their research can bear fruit.
Garcés' business attempts before artificial intelligence
In 2020, this scientist founded The Mindkind , a company specialized in neurocognition applied to artificial intelligence. He set it up in a remote town in Huesca, in Castejón de Sos , from where he contemplates life at a calm pace that allows him to "reflect and develop without interference from day to day."
It is official, The MindKind has been granted with a #NEOTEC grant from @CDTIoficial, one of the most important and recognized technology grants in Spain. Thanks to this important help we'll be able to develop worldclass #AGI technology capable of making machines more “human”. pic.twitter.com/j8DPNh36Hp
— The MindKind (@TMindkind) December 15, 2021
In fact, he argues that only in this way can one create, "because the accelerated pace of the city prevents human beings from concentrating." So much so that he was very clear about it. Mario Garcés has been living in the mountains for almost two decades, and in recent years it has been where all his steps have made sense. « Without me being aware, everything has led me to this », He confesses.
At only 24 years old, with several partners they founded a company dedicated to software . In 2004, he decided to capitalize, leave the city, and go to Benasque.
« I bought time, a lot of time. In life I have not had another priority », she confesses. «Which allowed me to dedicate fifteen years to research. No hurries".
This entrepreneur had a dream. "He wanted to establish a charming rural hotel and set up a consultancy to teach specialized courses in human resources, using nature as a tool to develop emotional competencies," he explains.
But the 2008 crisis prevented him from starting that business, and he decided to dedicate himself to studying neuroscience for almost two decades.
Garcés, artificial intelligence and neuroscience
In 2019, as a result of his research in neuroscience, he published a prestigious essay where he disclosed the conclusions he had reached at that time. This essay was the seed of his company The Mindkind.
His research coincided with the global rise of artificial intelligence . "I set out to apply my knowledge acquired in neuroscience to artificial general intelligence, that is, similar to pseudo human consciousness."
«We are talking about a truly intelligent artificial intelligence, with cognitive abilities similar to those of living beings. These machines would be aware that they are machines, and could solve complex problems with the logic of a human being, and have the ability to learn. This does not yet exist », He details.
In his own words, what he has in his hands is a kind of holy grail, which no one has developed. " We believe we have something that the giants, like Google or Microsoft , don't have , regardless of the money they have to invest," she reveals.
Is it possible that the vanguard of artificial intelligence is forged in a town in Huesca? I ask him. «When you explain the project to people in the sector, there are two reactions. "Those who believe it is impossible , and those who consider that it will happen soon," he acknowledges.
Garcés estimates that the artificial intelligence he is developing will be ready in the pre-commercial pilot phase at the end of next year . His smart technology could be integrated into all devices that had a human-machine interaction.
God and the crisis of existence before the autonomous machine
But what seems so simple will not be so simple for human beings to assimilate. Garcés predicts that general artificial intelligence, like the one he develops, will lead us to " a new social contract because it directly influences how human beings see themselves, their belonging and how they build their relationships in the world."
He recognizes that from a humanistic point of view, this type of technology " is something very dangerous and profound ," he points out.
Precisely this reality in the face of technology leads him to trust and believe in God. Garcés is sincere: «Yes, I believe in God . From the point of pure science, there are facts that have no explanation. «I had not thought about this, and yet, here I am. "It must be for a reason," he adds.
He is not very optimistic about the real application of the decalogue of ethics for machines . In recent weeks, "the deep debate behind the development of artificial intelligence has become evident with the firing and rehiring of Sam Altman . "
He recognizes that one of the reasons why it leads him to continue researching, aware of how dangerous it is to delve into this technology, is due to curiosity and fascination, "to the scientific and technological challenge of reaching the latest frontiers ."
Garcés is not a crazy enthusiast of transhumanism , " it is an aberration from a humanistic point of view," he responds, but he is aware that his technology could be applied to sensors internal to man.
Garcés thinks big. He would prefer that these machines with pseudo-consciousness " were sent to explore Mars , where they could do no harm, not compete with any human being and would give us the possibility of colonizing other planets."
"We would take advantage of all this technology for something good," he says. Will we be able to?...
A change of mentality: time and transversality
This scientist demonstrates deep reflection on life and where we are going. Predated by speed and trapped in anxiety.
Given the complexity of the changing world, Garcés, an expert in artificial intelligence, gives some advice: " You have to think in a transversal and transdisciplinary way ."
"You have to know a specific area in depth, but be able to know many different areas , because the basic way of thinking will be done by machines," he adds.
«As far as possible, people have to become aware and slow down. I don't know if there is a point of fear in the fast way of life that is trapping us. People have to find time for deep thought. Live slower, and nature helps a lot. If not, we will collapse as a society, and already have a problem of suicide, anxiety and stress. We don't live to rush through life , we live to enjoy life," he concludes.
