It seems that there is not much Godfathery love in the world of AI these days.
Jeffrey Hinton, a former Google employee known as the “AI Godfather” for his research on neural networks, has spoken out about the risks of technology. He said in a recent episode of the “One Decision” podcast that “most” people in tech companies understand the risks, but don't act.
“I think a lot of people in big companies are publicly disregarding the risk,” Hinton said in an episode aired on July 24th.
“For example, Demis Hassavis really understands risks and really wants to do something about it,” he said.
Hassabis is the CEO of Google Deepmind, the company's leading AI lab. He co-founded Deepmind in 2010 and sold it to Google in 2014 for $650 million. For many years, Nobel Prize winner Hassavis wanted scholars and scientists to lead the AI scramble. Now he's at the heart of Google's desire for AI control, and some company insiders have previously told Business Insider he thinks he might be running for CEO.
In February, Hasabis said AI poses long-term risks and warned that agent systems could become “out of control.” He calls for an international governing body to regulate technology. Later last month, protesters demonstrated that they would demand more AI transparency outside Deepmind's London office.
Hinton spent more than a decade on Google himself before quitting to discuss the dangers of AI more openly. He said in a previous podcast episode, the company encouraged him to stay and tackle safety issues.
The so-called Godfather said in the first half of the podcast, “people like Musk and Zuckerberg, they're oligarchs.” Representatives from Musk and Zuckerberg did not respond to BI's request for comment.
And about the question of whether he trusts them? “When I call them oligarchs, I think you know the answer to that.”
