Back when few thought humans could even succeed in developing AI, Geoffrey Hinton’s ideas of developing neural networks was met with great skepticism, if not scorn. Hinton ultimately proved the skeptics wrong.
History appears to be repeating itself: When Hinton was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2025, his short acceptance speech was more of a warning to the world. Here’s the most relevant passage.
In the near future AI may be used to create terrible new viruses and horrendous lethal weapons that decide by themselves who to kill or maim. All of these short-term risks require urgent and forceful attention from governments and international organizations.
Geoffrey Hinton, Dec. 10, 2024
There is also a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than ourselves. We have no idea whether we can stay in control. But we now have evidence that if they are created by companies motivated by short-term profits, our safety will not be the top priority.
We urgently need research on how to prevent these new beings from wanting to take control. They are no longer science fiction.
There’s an eerie sense that Hinton is like Cassandra, prophesying the risks of AI that no one believes.
