‘Godfather of AI’ Warns Firms Chase Profits Over Long-Term Safety

• Super intelligent AI could control humanity in 5-20 years, warns Hinton.
• Tech giants prioritize short-term gains, underfunding critical AI safety research.
• Hinton advocates for AI with maternal instincts to ensure human care.

Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist dubbed the "Godfather of AI," raised alarms about the trajectory of artificial intelligence development. Hinton criticized tech giants for chasing short-term profits at the expense of addressing the existential risks posed by super intelligent AI. With a career spanning decades, including significant contributions to neural networks at Google, Hinton now warns that the industry’s focus on immediate gains could jeopardize humanity’s future.

Hinton estimates a 10% to 20% chance that super intelligent AI systems surpassing human intelligence could take control within 5 to 20 years, a timeline shorter than his earlier predictions. He expressed disappointment in companies like Google, where he worked for over a decade, for shifting toward military AI applications and lobbying for lighter regulations. Hinton argues that tech firms are underinvesting in safety research, proposing that they allocate a third of their computing resources to studying AI risks an idea largely ignored by industry leaders.

To mitigate the dangers, Hinton suggests designing AI with “maternal instincts” to foster care for humans, rather than programming submissive systems that super intelligent AI could easily circumvent. This approach, he believes, could prevent AI from seeking dominance.

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His warnings echo concerns from tech leaders such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman, though Hinton critiques their companies for similar shortcomings. Reflecting on his career, Hinton regrets prioritizing AI functionality over safety, urging a shift in focus to protect humanity.

The speed of the progress toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) highlights the criticality of the Hinton appeal to responsible development of AI. The industry is at a crossroads as the argument human-focused AI proponents such as Fei-Fei Li, have joined the fray. The unregulated and uncontrolled exploitation of AI innovation can result in a disaster, unless it is heavily invested in safety-wise and regulated.