When ChatGPT arrived in 2022, AI tools were all people could talk about. In just a few days, the popularity of his parent company, OpenAI, has grown and CEO Sam Altman has become a household name. However, the launch of ChatGPT also raised some questions regarding AI (artificial intelligence) and its impact on humanity. Some experts believed that AI would lead to the creation of new opportunities and assist humans in their daily lives, while others believed that AI could completely replace humans. I insisted. Jeffrey Hinton, considered one of the godfathers of AI, has also been warning about the technology's impact since last year.
Now, Hinton once again spoke about concerns surrounding AI. In an interview with the BBC, Hinton said he was deeply concerned about the potential for AI to take away everyday jobs from humans. He added that emerging technologies will certainly contribute to productivity and create wealth. However, this wealth only ends up in the hands of the wealthy. In other words, even if AI brings benefits to the world and creates wealth, it will only end up in the hands of the wealthy, not the people who will lose their jobs and have a very negative impact on society. That means no.
The solution, Hinton says, is a basic income provided by governments so that people don't suffer from AI. “I was consulted by people in Downing Street and advised them that universal basic income was a good idea,” Hinton told the publication.
As mentioned earlier, Hinton is known as one of the godfathers of AI. He worked at Google for more than a decade and played a key role in advances in artificial intelligence. Together with two of his students, he created neural networks that serve as the basis for ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard chatbots. However, Hinton soon realized the dangers of his own creation and quit his job at Google to warn the world about the risks of emerging technology.
In an interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes last October, Hinton talked about the potential for AI to manipulate humans. He was saying that for the first time in history, we may have an “object” that is smarter than us.
“They'll be able to manipulate people, right?” he said, adding: “And these people will be very good at persuading people, because they have learned from every novel ever written, every book of Machiavelli, every political acquiescence. They'll know all that stuff. They'll know how to do it,” he said.
