On Monday (May 1), Geoffrey Hinton—often referred to as the “Godfather of AI”—confirmed that he had left Google last week and discussed the “dangers” of the field he helped create, artificial intelligence. Hinton had been splitting his time between the IT company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley and Toronto, Canada while working part-time there.
He said that “Right now, they’re not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be”.
It is coming sooner than expected: Geoffrey Hinton
Hinton, who developed the technology that served as the conceptual basis for AI systems at the University of Toronto along with two of his doctoral students, has now formally joined the chorus of detractors warning about the dangers of AI in an interview with the New York Times. He acknowledged that he now had some regrets about the work he had done during his life.
“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have,” Hinton told the New York Times. He also spoke about how he thought he had more time to talk about the potential threat of AI and said it is coming sooner than expected. “I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away,” adding, “Obviously, I no longer think that.”
After the interview, he also used Twitter to clarify that he left Google to speak openly about the dangers of AI rather than to specifically criticize the tech company. “I departed so that I could discuss the risks posed by AI without taking into account how this might affect Google. According to Hinton, Google operated quite responsibly.
But this is not the first time Hinton has voiced his worries about AI. He was asked about the “chances of AI basically wiping out humans” in an earlier interview with CBS back in March, and his response was, “It’s not unimaginable. That’s all I’ll say, according to a CNBC report. (https://hhcdropshipping.com)
More than 1,000 industry professionals and researchers signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in March, following the release of a new version of ChatGPT by OpenAI, noting the “profound risks to society and humanity” that AI poses.
Google developed Bard, its own chatbot. Google’s top scientist, Jeff Dean, said in a statement that was given to CNN, “We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.”
They weren’t the only ones concerned; an increasing number of people, including lawmakers, advocacy organizations, and even industry insiders, have raised concerns about AI-powered chatbots disseminating false information and possibly replacing jobs.
Hinton expressed similar worries in an interview with the New York Times when he stated that AI does have the potential to eliminate jobs. In addition, he immediately expressed concerns about the internet becoming so overrun with fake images, videos, and text that the typical person “will not be able to know what is true anymore.”