The ‘Godfather of AI’ has revealed what is the number one job that humans should train in to prepare for the AI takeover.
Geoffrey Hinton, who is a leading computer scientist and cognitive psychologist best known for pioneering artificial intelligence, made an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett.
Hinton left Google in 2023 and began to warn the public about the dangers of AI that no one is prepared for.
During his chat with Bartlett, Hinton revealed that he believes there is a 20% chance that the rise in AI could lead to human extinction as well as the positives it could have for healthcare and education.
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The expert also shared some of his deep regret for having helped to create the technology, highlighting his beliefs that it poses a threat to humanity.
Which job is safest from the AI takeover?
In the episode, Hinton revealed which job might be safest from being taken over by AI.
Speaking to Bartlett, he said: “I’d say it’s going to be a long time before it’s as good at physical manipulation as us and so a good bet would be to be a plumber.”
He continued: “Intellectually you can see the threat but it’s very hard to come to terms with it emotionally.
“I haven’t come to terms with it emotionally yet. I haven’t come to terms with what the development of super intelligence could do to my children’s future
“I’m okay, I’m 77, I’m going to be out of here soon but for my children and my my younger friends, my nephews and nieces, and their children, I just don’t like to think about what could happen.”
When asked why, the expert revealed that the future ‘could be awful’.
Hinton went on to explain: “If AI ever decided to take over, I mean it would need people for a while to run the power stations until it designed better analog machines to run the power stations.
“There’s so many ways it could get rid of people all of which would, of course, be very nasty.”
Which jobs are most at risk?
According to Hinton, professions like a legal assistant or paralegal are most at risk of getting the chop in the case of an AI takeover.
He added: “I think in a society which shared out things fairly, if you get a big increase in productivity everybody should be better off but if you can replace lots of people by AIs then the people who get replaced will be worse off and the company that supplies the AIs will be much better off, and the company that uses the AIs, so it’s going to increase the gap between rich and poor.”