An agent capable of general intelligence approximates the
knowledge level on an
unbounded set of problems with little inherent knowledge of the domain.
The capabilities needed to support general
intelligence are not generally known (although many have been
empirically determined
to be of significant importance; e.g.,
learning)
Additionally, no theory exists for determining either the
necessary or sufficient structures needed to support particular capabilities
and certainly not to support general intelligence
(although see
Unified Theories of Cognition for work in
developing such theories)
The field of intelligence has had its Jekyll and Hyde sides for me personally, which is why I entered the field in the first place. I became interested in intelligence when, as an elementary-school student, I did poorly on IQ tests. In fact, I did so poorly that in sixth grade I was sent back to a fifth-grade classroom to retake the fifth-grade intelligence test. In a sense, my professional career has been an attempt to understand and come to terms with my own early failures on these tests!