A new AI from China sees itself as Artificial General Intelligence
A new Chinese AI project presents itself with ambitious goals: as an autonomous agent system with the capabilities of a general intelligence.
- Dr. RĂĽdiger Berlich
With Manus, another Chinese AI is preparing to give established systems a run for their money. At least that's how the manufacturer's website describes itself. Not much concrete information is known yet.
After the Chinese AI DeepSeek made waves in the western world, another newcomer from the Far East is now following suit with Manus. A video on the project's website even speaks of “potentially, a glimpse into AGI”. AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence, a hitherto theoretical form of artificial intelligence that has the human ability to cognitively master any task. In contrast to traditional AIs, Manus is supposed to perform complex tasks completely autonomously. The claims are currently difficult to verify, as access is still “by invitation only”.
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A rather enthusiastic report in Forbes refers to Manus as a multi-agent system, i.e., a conglomerate of autonomous agents that can cooperate or compete with each other. By interacting, they look at problems from different angles and thus solve complex tasks that a single agent could not handle. A multi-agent system therefore not only increases the possibilities, but also the overall training effort. However, specialized subsystems are also easier to keep up-to-date.
However, most of the available reviews seem to be based on second-hand information. Detailed tests will show whether Manus will turn the AI world upside down like DeepSeek, or whether it will disappear into oblivion like Devin. An experience report on TechCrunch shows more disappointment than euphoria.
(mack)
