Creator of modern AI fears that humans 'may not have long left' and quits job at Google

One of the world's foremost pioneers of AI has announced his departure Google after ten years - because he is 'scared' that AI could be 'more intelligent than us' and misused to 'win wars'

Ciarn Daly Technology reporter

13:43, 02 May 2023Updated 13:44, 02 May 2023

[Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, who studies neural networks used in artificial intelligence applications, poses at Google's Mountain View, Calif, headquarters on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)]

Geoffrey Hinton is leaving Google because he wants to warn the world about 'AI safety issues'(Image: AP)

The 'godfather' of modern AI is stepping down from his role at Google after ten yearsbecause he's afraid that the technology he created is becoming too powerful.

Geoffrey Hinton is the scientist who, in the 1970s, pioneered artificial neural networks. These are the fundamental building blocks of modern AI that allow computers to 'think' like humans by emulating the structure of the brain in code.

Now, after 10 years of helping Google build AI, Dr. Hinton has announced that he plans to step back from his role so that he can "talk about AI safety issues without having to worry about how it interacts with Google's business".

Following the launch of new AI language models like GPT-4, Dr Hinton says he has 'suddenly switched his views' on how intelligent AI might becomeand won't be able to warn the rest of us while employed by Google.

[LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 4: Detail of the entrance to the Google UK offices in London, with the Google logo visible above the doorway, taken on June 4, 2019. (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future via Getty Images)]

Dr Hinton added that 'there's lots of good things about Google' - but that he wants to be able to speak his mind(Image: Future via Getty Images)

In an interview with the MIT Tech Review, Dr Hinton said: "I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.

"I think they're very close to it now and they will be much more intelligent than us in the future. How do we survive that?"

Dr Hinton now believes there has been a 'sudden flip' in the capabilities of AI. Systems like ChatGPT 'may have got a much better learning algorithm than us' as humans to the point of having 'a new and better form of intelligence'.

[Geoffrey Hinton pioneered artificial neural networks, the technique which underpins modern AI advances]

Geoffrey Hinton pioneered artificial neural networks, the technique which underpins modern AI advances(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Dr Hinton added that he's 'scared' for the future and believes AI could be misused by powerful people.

He said: "We know that a lot of people who want to use these tools are bad actors like Putin or DeSantis. They want to use them for winning wars or manipulating electorates."

"Don't think for a moment that Putin wouldn't make hyper-intelligent robots with the goal of killing Ukrainians. He wouldn't hesitate. And if you want them to be good at it, you don't want to micromanage themyou want them to figure out how to do it."

Hinton also believes that robots could one day 'reroute all the electricity' to their chips to become more powerful, or make copies of themselves.

He even told the interviewer: "Enjoy yourself, because you may not have long left".

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