- Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns of the dangers of machine learning.
- The neural network pioneer says the dangers of chatbots were ‘quite scary’ and warns they could be exploited by ‘bad actors.
- Hinton was also concerned that AI will eventually replace jobs like paralegals, personal assistants, and other “drudge work”, and potentially more in the future.
- Google’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean said, “We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.”
- IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told that up to 30% of the company’s back-office roles could be replaced by AI and automation within five years. IBM has a total global workforce of 260,000.
Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who with two of his students at the University of Toronto built a neural net in 2012, quit Google this week, the media reported.
Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns of the dangers of machine learning. The neural network pioneer says the dangers of chatbots were ‘quite scary’ and warns they could be exploited by ‘bad actors’. The man often touted as the godfather of AI has quit Google, citing concerns over the flood of fake information, videos, and photos online and the possibility for AI to upend the job market.
Hinton, 75, said he quit to speak freely about the dangers of AI, and in part regrets his contribution to the field. He was brought on by Google a decade ago to help develop the company’s AI technology. Hinton’s research led the way for current systems like ChatGPT.
He told the press that until last year he believed Google had been a “proper steward” of the technology, but that changed once Microsoft started incorporating a chatbot into its Bing search engine, and the company began becoming concerned about the risk to its search business. “I’ve come to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we’re developing is very different from the intelligence we have.” He said.
Hinton’s concern in the short term is something that has already become a reality. The recent upgrades to image generators such as Mid Journey mean people can now produce photo-realistic images – one such image of Pope Frances in a Balenciaga puffer coat went viral in March. Hinton was also concerned that AI will eventually replace jobs like paralegals, personal assistants, and other “drudge work”, and potentially more in the future.
Google’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean said in a statement that Google appreciated Hinton’s contributions to the company over the past decade. “As one of the first companies to publish AI Principles, we remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.”- He said.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told that up to 30% of the company’s back-office roles could be replaced by AI and automation within five years. Krishna said hiring in areas such as human resources will be slowed or suspended, and could result in around 7,800 roles being replaced. IBM has a total global workforce of 260,000.
(With inputs from agencies)
