There is so much hostility in AGI research. Everyone always arguing that everyone else is doing it wrong and that their approach is the One True Path. Progress is slow. When it happens it's debated if it's actually progress, or another step towards a dead end.

The only real feedback is failure. One camp goes a long time without producing an AGI. That's considered "proof" their approach will never work and that the New Idea will.

I'm just going to make a fictional analogy. It doesn't prove anything, but I hope it illustrates my frustration:

"Look at these idiots trying to build artificial flight by putting together large piles of feathers. Can't they see feathers are just pieces of a much more complicated puzzle?

And over there another group is dropping objects off buildings. Trying to find things that can stay in the air the longest. Even if they find something, it will never actually fly, just fall slightly slower.

There are people inflating balloons with gasses. Have you ever seen a bird made of balloons? It's absurd. Maybe eventually they will get something that hovers off the ground. But it will never fly gracefully like an eagle. It will never fool pigeons into thinking it's another pigeon.

One group has managed to make really strong artificial wings. They have gotten them stronger and faster than even real birds. But they need an entire steam engine to power them. And they don't even use feathers.

My group is going to build an artificial bird from the ground up, based on real biology. Teams of mechanics are working on designing tiny joints and artificial muscles. We have a prototype that can flutter across a room. At this rate we may only be decades away from true artificial flight."