https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20639 Skip to main content Cornell University Learn about arXiv becoming an independent nonprofit. We gratefully acknowledge support from the Simons Foundation, member institutions, and all contributors. Donate arxiv logo > cs > arXiv:2603.20639 [ ] Help | Advanced Search [All fields ] Search arXiv logo Cornell University Logo [ ] GO quick links * Login * Help Pages * About Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence arXiv:2603.20639 (cs) [Submitted on 21 Mar 2026] Title:Agentic AI and the next intelligence explosion Authors:James Evans, Benjamin Bratton, Blaise Aguera y Arcas View a PDF of the paper titled Agentic AI and the next intelligence explosion, by James Evans and 2 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:The "AI singularity" is often miscast as a monolithic, godlike mind. Evolution suggests a different path: intelligence is fundamentally plural, social, and relational. Recent advances in agentic AI reveal that frontier reasoning models, such as DeepSeek-R1, do not improve simply by "thinking longer". Instead, they simulate internal "societies of thought," spontaneous cognitive debates that argue, verify, and reconcile to solve complex tasks. Moreover, we are entering an era of human-AI centaurs: hybrid actors where collective agency transcends individual control. Scaling this intelligence requires shifting from dyadic alignment (RLHF) toward institutional alignment. By designing digital protocols, modeled on organizations and markets, we can build a social infrastructure of checks and balances. The next intelligence explosion will not be a single silicon brain, but a complex, combinatorial society specializing and sprawling like a city. No mind is an island. Comments: 4 pages Subjects: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) Cite as: arXiv:2603.20639 [cs.AI] (or arXiv:2603.20639v1 [cs.AI] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.20639 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: James Evans [view email] [v1] Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:23:11 UTC (182 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Agentic AI and the next intelligence explosion, by James Evans and 2 other authors * View PDF * HTML (experimental) * TeX Source license icon view license Current browse context: cs.AI < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-03 Change to browse by: cs References & Citations * NASA ADS * Google Scholar * Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation x [loading... ] Data provided by: Bookmark BibSonomy logo Reddit logo (*) Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools [ ] Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) [ ] Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) [ ] Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) [ ] scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) ( ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article [ ] alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) [ ] Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) [ ] DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) [ ] GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) [ ] Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) [ ] Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) [ ] ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) ( ) Demos Demos [ ] Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) [ ] Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) [ ] Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) ( ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools [ ] Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) [ ] Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) * Author * Venue * Institution * Topic ( ) About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?) * About * Help * Click here to contact arXiv Contact * Click here to subscribe Subscribe * Copyright * Privacy Policy * Web Accessibility Assistance * arXiv Operational Status