Why the AGI Debate Needs Layers, Not Goalposts

The AGI debate suffers from a critical definitional gap: different stakeholders use the same term while referring to different capability layers, causing endless goalpost-shifting. This maturity framework establishes five distinct layers, revealing that current models may have already achieved AGI at lower layers while falling short at higher ones. Understanding this layer distinction is essential for researchers and industry leaders to move beyond binary arguments toward meaningful evaluation of AI progress.