‘The Godfather of A.I.’ Leaves Google and Warns of Danger Ahead

In the thrilling crossroads of AI evolution, one man stands up against the tech titans, warning of a future where truth is distorted, jobs are lost, and humanity is threatened. Meet Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, the AI pioneer who’s now the industry’s most vocal critic:

Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, an artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer and one of the most respected voices in the field, has quit his job at Google to voice concerns about the risks of generative AI technology, like the ones powering popular chatbots. The technology Hinton and his students developed at the University of Toronto in 2012 forms the intellectual foundation for the AI systems widely used by tech giants today.

However, Hinton now joins critics who argue that these companies are on a dangerous path with their aggressive push to create products based on generative AI. He believes the technology could pose significant threats, including misinformation, job loss, and potentially, a risk to humanity. His concern is further amplified by the tech industry’s competitive race to deploy AI technologies, which he believes might be unstoppable.

After OpenAI’s release of a new version of ChatGPT, more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers called for a moratorium on the development of such systems due to their potential risks. However, Hinton refrained from signing any of these letters and criticising Google or other companies publicly until his resignation.

Dr. Hinton’s career has been driven by a commitment to the development and use of AI, specifically neural networks. His work, together with his students, led to significant breakthroughs in AI, including chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard. However, as these systems evolve and become more powerful, Hinton is increasingly concerned about their potential harm.

While many experts argue that this threat is hypothetical, Hinton believes that without global regulation, the escalating competition among tech giants could have severe consequences. He urges the world’s leading scientists to collaborate on ways to control the technology. His fears extend to a future with autonomous weapons and an internet flooded with false information generated by AI technologies. He is also worried about the potential of AI technologies to disrupt the job market and replace many jobs currently performed by humans.

See the full NYT article here.