Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI”, has confirmed his departure from Google after speaking out about the dangers of artificial intelligence and saying he will no longer work for Google. Hinton worked part-time at Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley.
Geoffrey Hinton, interviewed by the New York Times yesterday (2023, May 1), developed the technology with two of his graduate students at the University of Toronto as the intellectual foundation for AI systems. Hinton has now officially joined the ranks of critics warning of the dangers of AI.
Geoffrey Hinton expressed concern about regretting his life’s work, “but I’m comforted by the fact that if I hadn’t done it, someone else would have done it,” Hinton said.
Explaining the timing and reasons for his decision to talk about the potential threat of AI, he said artificial intelligence is coming sooner than he expected. “I thought it was going to take 30 to 50 years or more, but I realized it’s not going to take that long,” he said.
After an interview with the New York Times, he left Google on Twitter, making it clear that he could speak freely about the risks of AI because Google would not be right to be critical of the tech giant.
I left to talk about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Hinton also said that Google has acted very responsibly. This isn’t the first time Hinton has voiced his concerns about AI. In a previous interview with CBS in March, he was asked what he thought about “the chances of AI destroying humanity,”
Responding to this very important question, the “Godfather of AI” Jeffrey Hinton was quoted by CNBC as saying, “There’s an unimaginable risk…that’s all I’ll say.”
In the NYT today, Cade Metz implies that I left Google so that I could criticize Google. Actually, I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google. Google has acted very responsibly.
— Geoffrey Hinton (@geoffreyhinton) May 1, 2023
In March, more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers signed an open letter after OpenAI released a new version of ChatGPT.
A few months later Google created its own chatbot bar and many alternatives are emerging in this field. In a statement to CNN, Google’s chief scientist Jeff Dean said, “We are committed to a responsible approach to AI. “We are constantly learning to understand emerging risks while innovating,” he said.
Not only the scientists behind AI, but spectrum experts, lawmakers, advocacy groups and tech industry insiders have warned that AI-powered chatbots could spread misinformation and displace jobs.
Hinton echoed similar concerns during his interview with the NYT, saying that AI has the potential to eliminate jobs. He also expressed concerns about false photos, videos and comments floating around the internet to the point where the average person “can’t tell what’s true anymore”.
