Putting AGI in the same field as population growth and flight is disingenuous. They are entirely different things, and the rapid advancement of one means absolutely nothing about the advancement or even possibility of the other.

Overcoming physical limitations is one thing. An intelligent being creating something equally or more as intelligent as itself? And obviously I don't mean reproducing. Creating an entirely new class of thing which has intelligence equal to the creator is very different to using the forces of nature to give you an edge over gravity.