Navigating artificial general intelligence development: societal, technological, ethical, and brain-inspired pathways

This study examines the imperative to align artificial general intelligence (AGI) development with societal, technological, ethical, and brain-inspired pathways to ensure its responsible integration into human systems. Using the PRISMA framework and BERTopic modeling, it identifies five key pathways shaping AGI's trajectory: (1) societal integration, addressing AGI's broader societal impacts, public adoption, and policy considerations; (2) technological advancement, exploring real-world applications, implementation challenges, and scalability; (3) explainability, enhancing transparency, trust, and interpretability in AGI decision-making; (4) cognitive and ethical considerations, linking AGI's evolving architectures to ethical frameworks, accountability, and societal consequences; and (5) brain-inspired systems, leveraging human neural models to improve AGI's learning efficiency, adaptability, and reasoning capabilities. This study makes a unique contribution by systematically uncovering underexplored AGI themes, proposing a conceptual framework that connects AI advancements to practical applications, and addressing the multifaceted technical, ethical, and societal challenges of AGI development. The findings call for interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge critical gaps in transparency, governance, and societal alignment while proposing strategies for equitable access, workforce adaptation, and sustainable integration. Additionally, the study highlights emerging research frontiers, such as AGI-consciousness interfaces and collective intelligence systems, offering new pathways to integrate AGI into human-centered applications. By synthesizing insights across disciplines, this study provides a comprehensive roadmap for guiding AGI development in ways that balance technological innovation with ethical and societal responsibilities, advancing societal progress and well-being.