For years, artificial intelligence (AI) has promised to revolutionize how we handle vast amounts of data and automate complex tasks.

At the recent tech gathering South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, experts examined whether AI can truly address humanity's greatest challenges, such as war and climate change.

Michael Littman of Brown University expressed skepticism, noting that AI won't magically fix large-scale issues but can enhance efficiency in solving existing problems.

Amid discussions of a beneficial Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and avoiding catastrophic robot scenarios, industry players, like Microsoft, showcased AI applications. For instance, Microsoft's Simi Olabisi highlighted how Azure AI can discern customer emotions during call center interactions.

With OpenAI's ChatGPT making headlines, the concept of superior AGI that can exceed human intellect and potentially benefit humanity was a hot topic at SXSW.

Leaders like Ben Goertzel of the SingularityNET Foundation anticipate AGI's arrival within this decade, emphasizing the urgency to imbue such systems with empathy and human-like appearances for better human-AI relations.

David Hanson of Hanson Robotics discussed the dual nature of powerful AI, acknowledging AI's potential to tackle global issues yet recognizing the risk of disruptive financial algorithms. Hanson remains optimistic that AI may offer insights to improve humanity.

Despite the hopes vested in AI to create environmentally-friendly drugs and assess risks like extreme weather, experts like Rayid Ghani from Carnegie Mellon University underline the necessity of human action in crisis management and addressing social inequalities.

While AI's impact is already tangible in specific domains, its role in resolving broad social and environmental dilemmas remains contingent on human decisions and actions.