'Godfather of AI' issues major new warning about a dangerous trend pushed by AI companies
The 'Godfather of AI' is back with another worrying prediction, as he now reveals a major trend within the tech world that could leave humanity and the planet at risk as a consequence.
Even some of the most influential individuals in the world of artificial intelligence have remained wary of what it can bring to the world, as ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman has expressed his surprise that people trust his products, and the head of Google's DeepMind lab remains worried about the safety of advanced versions of the tool.
One of the most prominent detractors to how AI is continuing to advance though is scientist 'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton, who gained the moniker through his work on artificial neural networks.
He has previously outlined his fears that AI will continue to increase the wealth gap between the richest and poorest, and has even projected an increased risk for the end of humanity as a consequence of continued AI development.
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However, his new warning could put everyone in the world at risk, as he's noticed a dangerous trend in the industry that doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon.
What is Hinton's latest warning?
As reported by Fortune, Hinton believes that many AI companies are solely driven by short-term profits rather than long term concerns surrounding the 'endgame' of the technology.
"For the owners of the companies, what's driving research is short-term profits," Hinton explained. "Researchers are interested in solving problems that have their curiosity. It's not like we start off with the same goal of, what's the future of humanity going to be?
"We have these little goals of, how would you make it? Or, how should you make your computer able to recognize things in images? How would you make a computer able to generate convincing videos? That's what's really driving the research."
These long-term dangers can fall into a number of different categories from the risks that the job market faces to the environmental consequences that increased AI demand will cause, and they have been much discussed by experts wary of where the world is heading.
What are the main dangers of AI?
For Hinton though, these dangers fall into two separate categories, with one concerned with the threat AI poses to humanity directly, and then what could happen if AI is manipulated by people with bad intentions.
"There's the risk of bad actors misusing AI, and that's already there," he outlines. "That's already happening with things like fake videos and cyberattacks, and may happen very soon with viruses. And that's very different from the risk of AI itself becoming a bad actor."
One frightening timeline created by scientists tracks a potential future for AI development that would end up with humanity eradicated by an all-encompassing superhuman AI, and while this might seem more like science fiction than reality, it's scary quite how easily the blocks could fall into place for this to happen.
These threats could continue to ramp up if the companies in control of AI ignore them in favor of gaining money and power right now, and a conversation that Hinton had with podcaster Steven Bartlett revealed that at least one of the industry's most influential figures is 'lying to the public' and 'doesn't give a f***' about the effect that AI will have on people's lives.