'Probably Wipe Us Out': 'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Urges Urgent AI Safeguards, Warns of Existential Risk

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scientist Geoffrey Hinton, widely regarded as the “Godfather of AI” and a co-winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, has issued a stark warning about the future of artificial intelligence, saying humanity’s biggest mistake would be failing to invest in research on how to coexist safely with increasingly intelligent machines.In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Hinton said he feels deep personal regret over the risks posed by technology he helped create. “It makes me very sad that I put my life into developing this stuff and that um it’s now extremely dangerous and people aren’t taking the dangers seriously enough,” he said.

Hinton stressed that governments must urgently regulate AI, warning that unchecked competition among companies and nations could lead to catastrophic outcomes. “I think it’s clear that we need strong regulations on AI,” he said, noting that human competitiveness makes abuse of the technology likely without firm oversight.Asked about the most irreversible mistake humanity could make in the coming years, Hinton pointed to the lack of serious research into AI safety and coexistence. “I think the biggest mistake we could make is not to do enough research on how we can coexist peacefully with intelligent beings that are more intelligent than ourselves, but that we created,” he said. “But we should be very careful because if we create them so they don’t care about us, they will probably wipe us out.”Hinton warned that the world is nearing an unprecedented moment in history. “We’ve never been in this situation before of being able to produce things more intelligent than ourselves,” he said, adding that nearly all experts believe AI could surpass human intelligence within the next 20 years. In many specific tasks, he noted, AI systems already outperform humans.

He also rejected the assumption that dangerous systems could simply be switched off. “The idea that you could just turn it off won’t work,” Hinton said, warning that sufficiently advanced AI could persuade humans not to shut it down.The AI pioneer expressed concern that powerful technologies are being released at a time of weakening global cooperation and rising authoritarianism, making international regulation more difficult. He compared the challenge to the need for global agreements on nuclear and chemical weapons.Despite his warnings, Hinton said he does not regret his role in AI’s development. “It would have been developed without me,” he said. He also highlighted positive uses of AI in education and healthcare, including AI tutors and improved medical imaging.