The man, often touted as the godfather of AI, left Google over concerns about a deluge of misinformation, AI’s potential to upend the job market, and the “existential risk” posed by creating true digital intelligence. rice field.
As The New York Times first reported, Dr. Jeffrey Hinton, who built the neural net with two University of Toronto students in 2012, left Google this week.
Hinton, 75, said he left to speak freely about the dangers of AI and partly regretted his contribution to the field. Ten years before he was hired by Google to help the company develop his AI technology. The approach he pioneered led the way to current systems such as ChatGPT.
He told the New York Times that until last year he believed Google was a “proper steward” of technology, but as Microsoft began embedding chatbots into its Bing search engine, the company feared risks to the service. He said things have changed since he started. search business.
He told the BBC that some of the dangers of AI chatbots are “very scary” and that AI chatbots could become more intelligent than humans and be exploited by “bad guys”. I warned you there is. “Being able to generate large amounts of text automatically, we will have a large number of very effective spambots. Authoritarian leaders will be able to manipulate voters, etc.
But he added, “I’m also concerned about the existential risks of what happens when these things become smarter than we are.”
“We came to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we are developing is very different from the intelligence we have,” he says. “So it’s like if you have 10,000 people, and if one person learns something, they all automatically understand it. This is why we can know about
He’s not the only one at the top of AI research who fears the technology could seriously harm humanity. Elon Musk said last month that he had fallen out with Google co-founder Larry Page because he “didn’t take AI safety seriously enough.” Musk told Fox News that Page wants “digital superintelligence, basically a digital god” as soon as possible.
Valerie Pisano, chief executive of the Quebec artificial intelligence lab Mila, said a sloppy approach to the safety of AI systems is unacceptable elsewhere. “When technology comes out and systems interact with humanity, developers wait and see what happens and make adjustments based on that. No. There are things about technology and social media where we’re like, ‘Oh sure, we’ll find out later,'” she said.
Mr. Hinton’s short-term concerns have already materialized. With AI-generated photos, videos, and text flooding the internet, people will no longer be able to discern what is true.
Recent upgrades in image generation tools such as Midjourney have allowed people to create photorealistic images. One such image of him, an image of Pope Francis in a Balenciaga down coat, went viral in his March.
Hinton was also concerned that AI would eventually replace paralegals, personal assistants and other “monotonous jobs,” and many more in the future.
Google chief scientist Jeff Dean said in a statement that Google appreciates Hinton’s contributions to the company over the past decade.
“We have enjoyed many conversations over the years. We will miss him and wish him well!
“As one of the first companies to publish AI Principles, we remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. I am learning.”
Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the University of New South Wales AI Institute, said people should question the online media they see today.
“When it comes to digital data you see, such as audio or video, you have to have the notion that someone has spoofed it.”
