Geoffrey Hinton, a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist known as the “Godfather of A.I.,” has announced his exit from Google and expressed pessimism about the future of artificial intelligence during an interview with The New York Times. Hinton is concerned about the potential effects of ChatGPT, a mass-market AI tool developed by OpenAI, on the flow of information and the possibility of widespread unemployment.
Hinton explained in the interview that he spoke with Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, about his concerns. He also expressed disappointment in Google’s rushed move to incorporate OpenAI’s advancements into its search engine, saying that it showed the company was no longer a “proper steward” for the technology.
The comments come as Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who has since resigned his seat on the company’s board of directors, and Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple, signed an open letter for the Future of Life Institute with hundreds of other technology leaders which called for a six-month moratorium on developing AI solutions as the world considers possible ramifications of the technology. Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer of Microsoft, who has worked to implement OpenAI innovations into the company’s products, signed a similar letter from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.
Hinton, a Turing Award recipient for his “conceptual and engineering breakthroughs that have made deep neural networks a critical component of computing,” declined to endorse the letters, wanting to avoid criticizing Google until he had officially left his position. He believes AI tools, which often exhibit unexpected behavior as they teach themselves new information, could one day run on code they develop, possibly abusing weapons and other technology entrusted to the systems.
BREAKING: Hinton is leaving Google. He will be speaking at our AI event, EmTech Digital, on Wednesday, where he will give his first post-resignation interview. https://t.co/WB6wwrpv2i
— MIT Technology Review (@techreview) May 1, 2023
Some technology experts, however, believe the concerns of individuals such as Musk and Hinton are overblown. A recent forecast from Goldman Sachs predicted that AI could eliminate 7% of positions in the United States, largely in sectors that rely upon office work. This has further fueled the debate over the future of AI and its potential effects on the global economy and labor market.
