Geoffrey Hinton, the "Godfather of deep learning" standing at a podium

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What are Geoffrey Hinton’s AI concerns? Why is the “Godfather of AI” advocating for regulations?

As machines grow smarter, artificial intelligence pioneers like Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton warn they could someday pursue their own goals at our expense. Although we’re reaping transformative benefits across many fields, they fear there’s a thin line between AI innovation and potential catastrophe for humans.

Here’s what humans need to look out for and why regulations are so important.

Image source: Flickr, License: Image cropped

Should Humans Worry About AI?

As artificial intelligence accelerates—giving us models that have become powerful tools for generating disinformation, convincingly impersonating people, and making quick decisions—the line between science fiction and reality is blurring.

At the center of this debate is computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, whose work on neural networks earned him a Nobel Prize, the nickname the “Godfather of AI,” and a front-row seat to the perils of the technology he had a hand in creating. 

Hinton’s journey from neural network pioneer to vocal AI critic reflects the misgivings that many of us have about artificial intelligence. He warns that superintelligent machines could develop goals that are at odds with ours or pose dangers in the wrong hands. Here’s a deeper look at Geoffrey Hinton’s AI fears.

The Potential “Existential Risk” of AI 

Hinton’s groundbreaking work on neural networks and deep learning algorithms earned him the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. His methods laid the foundation for the branch of artificial intelligence called machine learning and helped to propel AI into the mainstream consciousness. But Hinton may be best known for his high-profile departure from Google in 2023, in which he sounded the alarm that AI could harm humanity. His warnings have fueled the debate on the “existential risk” that Hinton believes artificial intelligence poses. 

Experts believe AI tools like the large language model that powers ChatGPT (and was made possible by the methods pioneered by Hinton) have incredible potential across many domains, from health care to education and beyond. But Hinton and others have warned that we need an ethical and regulatory framework to develop and use these tools responsibly. He believes advanced AI systems could pose ethical dilemmas, regulatory challenges, and inherent risks if they surpass human intelligence, develop their own goals, or are misused for malicious purposes, like manipulating elections or fighting wars.

The Growth of Chatbots

As chatbot technology improves, people’s relationships with it are evolving—in ways that affect their relationships with other people, as well. 

First, expectations of chatbots are growing: People increasingly expect them to understand context, personalize responses, and handle more complex queries. 

Then, because they’re growing more comfortable interacting with these technologies, people’s desire to speak with other humans is lessening:   

62% of consumers now say they’d rather use a chatbot than wait for assistance from a human—suggesting both people’s preference for fast, round-the-clock service and that customer relationships are becoming less dependent on human interaction.

Regular encounters with chatbots are making people less patient: 59% of customers now expect a chatbot response within five seconds.

Forty percent of people now say they prefer online communication over face-to-face conversations. Further, people increasingly view chatbots not just as tools to accomplish tasks, but as potential substitutes for human relationships. 

Experts say that at its extreme, prolonged conversations with the technology is leading to new forms of “friendship” and intimate relationships—a logical development given that chatbots are available to meet people’s physical, emotional, and consumer needs around the clock. The more chatbots evolve to have natural and human-like interactions, the more likely people will be to perceive them as human—which could lead to a growing emotional dependence on the tools.

Can AI Outsmart Humans?

Tech giants are rolling out increasingly sophisticated AI tools, and promising that AI will revolutionize how we work, communicate, and create art. From ChatGPT’s ability to write essays and produce code to Siri’s voice-activated assistance to Dall-E’s ability to create any image you ask for, AI assistants are getting hard to ignore. But they also raise questions about privacy, data use, job displacement, environmental impacts, and the value of human work, thinking, and creativity. Hinton—who says he initially believed that AI wouldn’t surpass human intelligence—now expresses concerns that AI systems could become smarter than humans in the near future. It’s hard to imagine the consequences that might follow.

One of Hinton’s primary concerns is the possibility that advanced AI systems might develop their own goals, which could lead to unintended and harmful consequences. He explains that AI systems, if given the ability to create their own objectives, might pursue goals like “get more energy” or “make more copies of yourself.”

Hinton advocates for international cooperation and regulation to address these risks. He suggests curbing the development of potentially dangerous AI systems in the same way that we ban chemical weapons.

The Positive Outcomes of AI

While the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence raises eyebrows, its proponents argue we’re already reaping transformative benefits across various sectors. For example, in health care, AI can serve health care providers as a tireless, hyper-observant assistant. In the radiology lab, AI tools analyze medical images and data with superhuman accuracy, enabling doctors to catch diseases in their earliest stages and put together more effective treatment plans. In the pharmacy, AI tools can tailor treatments to a patient’s unique genetic makeup and medical history, which increases the chances of successful outcomes. 

Proponents of artificial intelligence say the technology could augment human decision-making across domains. AI can sift through mountains of data to spot patterns invisible to the human eye. From financial markets to climate science, this would enable AI systems to provide insights that could solve some of our most complex challenges.

How Should We Proceed?

The path to the future of artificial intelligence resembles a high-stakes tightrope walk. One side offers advancements that could solve humanity’s most pressing challenges. The other could unleash the existential risks of building machines that could become more intelligent than humans. The key to getting safely across might lie in what experts call “AI alignment”: ensuring powerful AI systems remain in lockstep with human values and intentions. It’s a daunting task, akin to teaching human ethics to an alien intelligence, and researchers are exploring approaches like inverse reinforcement learning, which aims to help AI systems better understand and align with human objectives. AI alignment is crucial because superintelligent systems pursuing goals at cross-purposes with ours could spell disaster.

Geoffrey Hinton’s AI Warnings (The “Godfather” of AI)

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Hannah Aster

Hannah graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English and double minors in Professional Writing and Creative Writing. She grew up reading books like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials and has always carried a passion for fiction. However, Hannah transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018 and now enjoys sharing travel guides and trying to inspire others to see the world.

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