The ‘Godfather of AI’ and a pioneering researcher Geoffrey Hinton, who with two of his students at the University of Toronto built a neural net in 2012, has quit his position at Google to talk freely about the dangers of the technology that he helped build. Google hired Dr. Geoffrey a decade ago to help develop the company’s AI technology, and the approach he pioneered led the way for current systems such as ChatGPT.
Godfather of AI: The Dangers of AI
Dr. Geoffrey told the media about the dangers of AI warning they could become more intelligent than humans and could be exploited by bad actors. “It’s able to produce lots of text automatically so you can get lots of very effective spambots. It will allow authoritarian leaders to manipulate their electorates, things like that. I’ve come to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we’re developing is very different from the intelligence we have,” he said.
Hinton said that competition between tech giants was pushing companies to release new AI technologies at dangerous speeds, risking jobs and spreading misinformation. He said that the advancements made in the field posed profound risks to society and humanity. “Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now. Take the difference and propagate it forward. That’s scary.”
Why He Left Google?
When asked about Hinton’s decision to leave, Google’s chief scientist Jeff Dean said that the company remains committed to a responsible approach to AI. “We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly,” he said. Earlier, the CEO of Google said that the society needed to quickly adapt and come up with regulations for AI in the economy. “The development of AI needs to include not just engineers, but social scientists, ethicists, philosophers and so on,” he added.
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