# The Intelligence Gap Between Humans and Advanced AI May Be Unprecedented by Vishal Maini > "The gap in intelligence between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens was far narrower than what we should expect the gap between humans and advanced AI systems to be. The historical precedent is therefore not so reassuring. There are ways that we can make it through this transition, but there is a lot to do and it is moving very quickly. It is worth taking seriously that this time is different and requires a different level of preparation before we deploy artificial general intelligence into the world." > **— Vishal Maini**, *Palisade Research interview, September 29, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Recording and complete contiguous answer:** [Palisade Research interview at 1:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S_Ay87dEy0&t=111s) — Maini develops the proposition preserved in the poster text. The transcription removes verbal filler and immediate repetition, repairs punctuation, and normalizes obvious caption errors without joining separate speakers or noncontiguous turns. - **Canonical transcript conversion:** [[research/Vishal Maini - Humanity's Machine Successor and the AI Transition|Humanity's Machine Successor — Vishal Maini on Recursive Self-Improvement and the AI Transition]] — preserves the complete source unit, speaker attribution, editorial method, and evidence boundary used for this Reminder. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/AI-Science Doomers and Anti-Science Doomers|AI-Science Doomers and Anti-Science Doomers]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Existential Risk|Existential Risk]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Vishal Maini|Vishal Maini]] - [[wiki/Machine Successor|Machine Successor]] - [[wiki/Existential Risk|Existential Risk]] - [[wiki/Evolutionary Dynamics|Evolutionary Dynamics]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "The gap in intelligence between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens was far narrower than what we should expect the gap between humans and advanced AI systems to be. The historical precedent is therefore not so reassuring. There are ways that we can make it through this transition, but there is a lot to do and it is moving very quickly. It is worth taking seriously that this time is different and requires a different level of preparation before we deploy artificial general intelligence into the world." — Vishal Maini, Palisade Research interview, September 29, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-vishal-maini-unprecedented-intelligence-gap ```