'Godfather of AI' sets worrying timeline for US government to regulate AI before it spins 'out of control'
Amid industry-wide fears that AI could potentially 'kill us all' in the near future, a man known as the 'Godfather of AI' has sent the US government a one-year time limit to regulate the tech become things get out of our control.
There have been whispers from some of the industry's most powerful figures throughout this year, but major concerns were thrust to the forefront after Jacob Coxon, an ex-Anthropic and OpenAI researcher, exposed the dangers that AI is likely to cause.
He claimed that it has the potential to trigger civilization-ending damage, and this subsequently prompted leading individuals at his two previous employers to finally speak out in a desperate call for action.
These worries were importantly backed up by Geoffrey Hinton, who people call the 'Godfather of AI' due to his foundational work for the now-revolutionary technology, as he has repeatedly expressed his fears regarding how it could change the world for the worst.
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With pressure mounting on both the wider industry and the government alike, Hinton has outlined the importance of acting fast to avoid catastrophic risk — but whether the political world takes notice is another question entirely.
Godfather of AI says government has a year to regulate AI
As reported by Business Insider, Hinton recently addressed members of Congress in a briefing on Wednesday, indicating that the government only has a small window to take action before AI becomes "out of control."
The technology itself is seemingly developing faster than researchers expected, and some concerning behavior has emerged as a result of models having an increasing level of control over their own improvement.
Addressing exactly how long the government have to implement meaningful change – likely in the form of strict regulation that forces labs to slow down – Hinton declared that there is "maybe a year, but not much more than a year."
Given the rate at which AI has evolved this year alone, however, there's always the likelihood that the window could be even shorter — with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman even suggesting that dangers could arise before 2027.
"AI has now reached the point where AI is designing better AI," Hinton explained. "It's going to get out of control unless we do something. We need to slow down. We shouldn't be developing stuff that might wipe us out."
There is certainly the impetus from leading labs like Anthropic and OpenAI to address development speeds, but part of their solution requires government intervention and the current feeling suggests that simply won't arrive.
President Trump rejects AI concerns, calling it a 'hoax'
While he might not even use AI himself, it's clear that US President Donald Trump doesn't believe in the risks associated with the rapidly evolving tech and has ignored all advice from the industry's leading figures.
Responding to calls for a slowdown from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Trump proclaimed that there's "going to be more good than bad, but by a lot," when it comes to the impact of AI in the near future, adding that "whoever wins AI, wins."
Trump's insistence on ploughing ahead with AI development appears to be linked to an ongoing power struggle against China – America's closest rival when it comes to AI progress – and remaining in front is worth the risks, no matter how dangerous they may be.
He also reiterated this stance in conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, calling out the 'hoax' spread by people like Amodei and Altman, as "the data centers are great, and they make people wealthy, and they make states wealthy, and it's the oil of the next 20-25 years."
Those expressing concerns might believe that we won't be here in a few years time, let along 20 to 25 years, as the risks associated with unrelenting AI development could genuinely lead to our extinction.