It has just been revealed that the godfather of AI, an ex-Google researcher has been named, said something mind-blowing about AI. Check out the latest reports about this below.
AI could become sentient
Geoffrey Hinton, a renowned computer scientist and often referred to as the “Godfather of AI”, has expressed concern over the possible takeover by artificial intelligence-enhanced machines in case humans fail to act cautiously. Hinton, who won the 2018 Turing Award for his pioneering work on AI and deep learning, has warned that AI technologies could surpass human intelligence in as little as five years.
This could mean that AI machines may evolve beyond human control, with the ability to write their own computer code to modify themselves.
Hinton has urged that this is a serious concern that requires immediate attention, which is why he resigned from his position as a vice president and engineering fellow at Google in May, after a decade with the company, so that he could speak freely about the risks posed by AI.
Humans, including scientists like Hinton who played a vital role in building today’s AI systems, still haven’t completely comprehended how the technology functions and evolves.
This lack of understanding is commonly referred to as the “black box” problem by many AI researchers. Hinton explained that scientists design algorithms for AI systems to extract information from data sets, such as the internet.
“When this learning algorithm then interacts with data, it produces complicated neural networks that are good at doing things,” he said. “But we don’t really understand exactly how they do those things.”
Pichai and other AI experts do not share Hinton’s concern about humans losing control.
Yann LeCun, another Turing Award winner and a “godfather of AI,” believes that any warnings of AI replacing humanity are “preposterously ridiculous” because humans can always put a stop to any technology that becomes too dangerous.
Hinton emphasizes that the worst-case scenario is not a certainty and that industries like healthcare have already greatly benefited from AI.
He also mentions the spread of AI-enhanced misinformation, fake photos, and videos online. Hinton calls for more research to understand AI, government regulations to control the technology, and worldwide bans on AI-powered military robots.
At a session on Capitol Hill held last month, lawmakers and tech executives, including Pichai, Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, discussed the importance of balancing regulations with innovation-friendly government policies. Hinton added that whatever AI guardrails are put into place, whether by tech companies or at the mandatory behest of the U.S. federal government, they need to be implemented soon.
Humanity is likely at “a kind of turning point,” said Hinton, adding that tech and government leaders must determine “whether to develop these things further and what to do to protect themselves if they [do].”
“I think my main message is there’s enormous uncertainty about what’s going to happen next,” Hinton said as quoted by a recent article posted by CNBC.
