The Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, left Google last week to speak out about the dangers of the technology he helped develop.
Hinton’s groundbreaking work on neural networks influenced the development of artificial intelligence systems that power a variety of modern products.
Leaving Google To Discuss AI Dangers
Ten years ago, he worked part-time at Google on the tech giant’s AI development efforts, but he now has reservations about the technology and his role in its advancement.
Hinton stated in a Monday tweet that he left Google so he could speak freely about the dangers of AI, and not because he wanted to specifically criticize Google.
Hinton’s decision to leave the company and speak out about the technology coincides with an increasing number of lawmakers, advocacy groups, and tech insiders raising concerns about the potential for a new generation of AI-powered chatbots to disseminate false information and eliminate jobs.
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Tech Companies Competing For AI Dominance
Late last year, the attention surrounding ChatGPT sparked a renewed arms race among tech companies to develop and implement similar AI tools within their products. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google are in the vanguard of this trend, but IBM, Amazon, Baidu, and Tencent are also developing comparable technologies.
Some prominent figures in the technology industry signed a letter in March urging artificial intelligence labs to halt the training of the most powerful AI systems for at least six months, citing grave risks to society and humanity.
The Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit organization backed by Elon Musk, published the letter just two weeks after OpenAI announced GPT-4, a more powerful version of the technology that powers ChatGPT.
In early tests and a company demonstration, GPT-4 was utilized to draft lawsuits, pass standardized exams, and construct a functional website from a hand-drawn sketch.
Hinton echoed concerns about artificial intelligence’s potential to eliminate jobs and create a world where people will no longer be able to know what is true. In addition, he emphasized the astounding rate of development, which far exceeded his and others’ expectations.
Even before leaving Google, Hinton had spoken publicly about AI’s potential for both good and evil.
Hinton is not the first Google employee to raise concerns about artificial intelligence. In July, the company terminated an engineer who claimed an unreleased AI system had become sentient, citing violations of data security and employment policies. Many in the AI community strongly contested the engineer’s claim.
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