Geoffrey Hinton, one of the leading voices in the field of artificial intelligence and a pioneer of deep learning, has left his role at Google and spoken of the dangers some of his creations may pose.
The Turing Award winner, who created technologies that became the underlying foundation for today's AI craze — including advancing the concept of neural networks — left the Alphabet-owned technology giant after a decade so he can speak freely about his concerns about AI, he told the New York Times in an interview.
From eliminating jobs to the threat of AI becoming sentient as it can learn on its own by self-analysing huge amounts of data, Mr Hinton, 75, voiced regrets about the innovations that he had a hand in creating.
“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have,” he said.
It is hard to see how bad people could be prevented from doing bad things with his creations, he said.
Mr Hinton stood by talking freely about AI in a tweet, while clarifying that he was not criticising Google, whom he said “acted very responsibly”, in the Times article.
“I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google,” he said.
Google has not officially announced his departure. He told the San Francisco-based company last month that he was leaving, and last Thursday spoke to Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai, according to the Times.
He declined to reveal what they discussed.
Mr Hinton's decision to leave Google comes at a critical time as the company is locked in a battle for AI supremacy, particularly in generative AI, which rose to prominence thanks to the emergence of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Generative AI is emerging as the latest battlefield for tech companies seeking advantage from the technology.
It can produce data including audio, code, images, text, simulations, 3D objects and videos. While it takes cues from existing data, it is also capable of generating new and unexpected output, according to GenerativeAI.net.
ChatGPT became a sensation because of its advanced conversational capabilities. It can even answer questions from patients “more accurately and empathically than doctors”, according to a study from the University of California published last week.
However, days later, Bard made an error in a promotional video during a company event in Paris, wiping $100 billion off Google's market value.
In the same month, Microsoft's own Bing chatbot caused alarm after becoming threatening — including speaking of desires to steal nuclear codes, create a deadly virus or to be alive.
“The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people — a few people believed that,” Mr Hinton told the Times.
I don’t think they should scale this up more until they have understood whether they can control it,
Geoffrey Hinton
“But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.”
Mr Hinton was also concerned about the economic ramifications of advanced AI: while chatbots like ChatGPT complement humans, they could replace repetitive tasks, and could ultimately “upend” the labour sector.
“It takes away the drudge work; it might take away more than that,” he said.
Roughly 18 per cent of work globally could be automated by AI, with a bigger impact on developed than emerging markets, Goldman Sachs said in a March report.
In the US alone, about two thirds of jobs are exposed to some degree of automation by AI, with most having a significant — but partial — share of their workload (25-50 per cent) that can be replaced by AI, the study showed.
Mr Hinton is worried that future iterations of AI could become a threat to humans because of their unexpected behaviour. He also dreads the day that truly autonomous weapons — “killer robots” — may become a reality.
The emergence of weaponised tech could stem from threat actors successfully using operational technology environments to cause human casualties by 2025, research firm Gartner has previously warned.
Acknowledging the dangers of AI, Mr Hinton said the best course of action is to have a united and global effort to control the technology, and maybe even form an overarching organisation that will regulate the industry.
“I don’t think they should scale this up more until they have understood whether they can control it,” he said.
Billions of dollars have also been poured into generative AI, as investors see the potential of technology, a recent study from CB Insights showed.
Essentials
The flights Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur,Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang,Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes. 23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi,Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
Help out around the house.
Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
Offer to strip the bed before you go.
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister. "We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know. “All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.” It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins. Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
