The human brain's edge is fading. AI could outhink us in 2 years, Ben Goertzel says

Tech

Share

Share this article

Copy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

The human brain's edge is fading. AI could outhink us in 2 years, Ben Goertzel says

"The human brain is better at taking the imaginative leap to understand the unknown ... We should enjoy it for a couple more years."

By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Sheldon Reback

Feb 11, 2026, 4:04 p.m.

Make us preferred on Google

Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET (Isaac Lawrence/Consensus modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

• Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, predicts that artificial intelligence will surpass humans in high-level market thinking and strategy in about two years.
• While AI systems like his Quantium project are good at predicting bitcoin volatility, people still currently excel at long-term, imaginative strategic thinking.
• Goertzel sees growing interest in real-world DeFi and TradFi integration and decentralized AI as proof the technology is maturing.

Two years. That's the amount of time human beings have before artificial intelligence becomes better thinkers and strategists than us, according to Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized AI marketplace.

While the artificial intelligence industry is currently focused on developing automated agents to improve market efficiency, Goertzel suggested that, for the time being, people remain the primary driver of high-level strategy. He noted that while his Quantium project can predict short-term bitcoin BTC$66,944.44 volatility with high accuracy, long-term strategic thinking remains a uniquely human domain, for now.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Sign me up

By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.

"The human brain is better at taking the imaginative leap to understand the unknown," Goertzel said in an interview at Consensus Hong Kong. It won't last, though. "We should enjoy it for a couple more years."

Goertzel’s two-year countdown isn't just an AI expert’s prediction: It’s a roadmap for the integration of SingularityNET’s decentralized AI with the broader blockchain ecosystem. As the distinction between human-driven and machine-driven markets blurs, Goertzel explained that the current bear cycle is merely a "stress test" for the infrastructure that will eventually host artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Goertzel said he's noted a palpable shift in energy from speculative hype to technological utility. The prevailing mindset among the conference's attendees has changed, he said. The focus has moved from the "depressing" fluctuations of exchange rates toward the sophisticated integration of decentralized finance (DeFi) with traditional financial systems.

To Goertzel, this indicates that the technology has reached a stage where it works reliably for complex, real-world applications.

Furthermore, he highlighted the explosive growth of decentralized AI projects at the event as a sign the industry is poised for a major convergence, where blockchain provides the necessary data sovereignty and security for the next generation of artificial intelligence.

Consensus Hong Kong 2026SingularitynetBen goertzelAI

More For You

The Protocol: Robinhood unveils its layer-2 testnet

By Margaux Nijkerk|Edited by Sheldon Reback

20 minutes ago

Also: Citadel backs LayerZero chain, MegaETH mainnet debut and ENS scraps L2 plans

What to know:

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.

In this issue:

• Robinhood starts testing its own blockchain as its push into crypto and tokenization deepens.
• Citadel Securities backs LayerZero as it unveils ‘Zero’ blockchain for global markets.
• MegaETH debuts mainnet as Ethereum scaling debate heats up.
• Ethereum's ENS identity system scraps planned rollup after Vitalik's warning about layer-2 networks.

Read full story

Latest Crypto News

Institutional crypto platform BlockFills reportedly halts withdrawals, restricts trading

3 minutes ago

The Protocol: Robinhood unveils its layer-2 testnet

20 minutes ago

Cryptos crumble, bitcoin falls through $66,000, as Friday's bounce fades

48 minutes ago

In unfamiliar market conditions, historical data-driven AI trading bots will falter

1 hour ago

Decentralized AI is in a trough but real opportunities are emerging, crypto VCs say

1 hour ago

BlackRock takes first DeFi step, lists BUIDL on Uniswap as UNI jumps 25%

1 hour ago

Top Stories

Analysts react as Robinhood slumps 10%, with slowdown in crypto trading weighing on results

2 hours ago

U.S. added stronger than expected 130,000 jobs in January, with unemployment rate falling to 4.3%

3 hours ago

Recapping day 1 of Consensus Hong Kong

3 hours ago

Tokenization still at start of hype cycle, but needs more use cases, specialists say

6 hours ago

MrBeast's finance bet could become the new generation's Schwab, Robinhood, Tom Lee says

7 hours ago

Aviva Investors to tokenize funds on XRP Ledger in Ripple partnership

4 hours ago