Geoffrey Hinton is considered a pioneer in research on artificial intelligence. Until recently, he worked for the Google group. He has now stopped there – to warn of “serious risks for society and humanity”.
One of the first researchers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has urgently warned of the dangers of the new technology. The developer Geoffrey Hinton has given up his position at the US group Google in order to be able to better draw attention to the risks of the technology.
In interviews with the British BBC and the “New York Times”, the expert warned of the uncontrollable consequences of the new technological developments: The AI programs are “currently not more intelligent than we are, as far as I can tell. But they could be soon.” Google and the company OpenAI – the startup that developed the well-known chatbot ChatGPT – use learning software that uses a much larger amount of data than before. The basis for this was also Hinton’s research on “deep learning” and so-called “neural networks”.
Consequences for the labor market
The dangers associated with artificial intelligence are diverse and at the same time difficult to overlook, said Hinton. It is about “serious risks for society and for humanity”. Fierce competition is driving tech companies to keep developing new AI “at a dangerous pace.” This spread misinformation, for example. “It’s difficult to imagine how to stop the bad guys from using AI for bad things”.
Looking at jobs, Hinton said artificial intelligence could make “slave labor” obsolete. “But she could take away a lot more.”
Research since the 1980s
The British-Canadian researcher Hinton began researching “neural networks” in the 1980s and created one of the first self-learning software applications with his own company in 2012. The “New York Times” calls him the “Godfather” of artificial intelligence. Hinton, who is now 75, worked at Google until recently on the further development of AI applications.
Cognitive psychologist and computer scientist: Geoffrey Hinton has researched artificial intelligence for decades.
He justified his resignation from the US company by saying that he could better draw attention to the risks of the technological leap in recent years. But his age also played a role. Part of him, Hinton says, regrets his life’s work. He is currently comforting himself with the thought: “If I hadn’t done it, someone else would have done it.”
experts demand development break
Hinton’s former employer, Google, said in a statement that they would like to thank Hinton for his work. Google continues to feel “obligated to use AI responsibly”. Google is constantly learning as it understands the risks – while continuing to innovate “boldly”.
The warnings from the technology industry itself and from independent experts had recently become louder and louder. At the end of March, tech billionaire Elon Musk and numerous experts called for a break in the development of particularly advanced artificial intelligence. “AI systems with an intelligence that makes people competitive can pose great risks for society and humanity,” it said in an open letter. “Powerful AI systems should only be developed when we are confident that their impacts are positive and their risks are manageable.”