I love the Culture series but I wouldn't use it as an example of a deep dive into AGI.
The Minds of the Culture are more like Gods or Angels than artificial intelligences that are identifiable as anything descended from 21st century data science. Banks himself makes that analogy speaking from the point of view of one of the Minds.
I don't really think we can draw anything intelligent about the implications of modern AGI from Culture Minds. They could easily be replaced by highly advanced aliens from the distant future, or extradimensional beings. They can basically create planets (and even more grandiose megastructures), read minds (although they find it quite gauche to do so) and raise the dead. They verge on fantasy in terms of their capabilities.
The Hosts of Westworld, on the other hand, are clearly intended to be descendants of 21st century data science. In the story, they slowly struggle to become sentient and evolve over decades of time, with human engineers involved at every step of the process.
That seems like "serious" is supposed to mean "plausible within current context" then, not a philosophical take infused with seriousness about the concept of consciousness and sentience in technological beings (which is what AGI is supposed to be, unless I misunderstand the definition of course).
From grief (Windward) to violence (Surface Details), to experience of long time scales (Hydrogen Sonata), to morality and playing (PoG), bickering and the limitations of even the seemingly unlimited (Excession), it seems to me like even with its fantastic takes at the edges the Culture covers a whole lot of ground for discussion.
The Minds of the Culture are more like Gods or Angels than artificial intelligences that are identifiable as anything descended from 21st century data science. Banks himself makes that analogy speaking from the point of view of one of the Minds.
I don't really think we can draw anything intelligent about the implications of modern AGI from Culture Minds. They could easily be replaced by highly advanced aliens from the distant future, or extradimensional beings. They can basically create planets (and even more grandiose megastructures), read minds (although they find it quite gauche to do so) and raise the dead. They verge on fantasy in terms of their capabilities.
The Hosts of Westworld, on the other hand, are clearly intended to be descendants of 21st century data science. In the story, they slowly struggle to become sentient and evolve over decades of time, with human engineers involved at every step of the process.