AI Pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, also known as one of the “godfathers of AI,” has expressed that artificial intelligence could be a more urgent threat to humanity than climate change. Hinton’s expertise is considered essential to the development of contemporary AI systems, and he recently announced his departure from Alphabet after a decade with the firm to speak out on the risks of the technology without it affecting his former employer. Despite being among a growing number of tech leaders publicly espousing concern about the possible threat posed by AI, Hinton disagrees with pausing research. He feels that it is unrealistic and believes that AI is an existential risk that requires companies to put a lot of resources into figuring out what can be done about it. Recently, a committee of lawmakers in the European Union responded to an open letter signed by Elon Musk and other tech leaders calling for a six-month pause in the development of systems more powerful than OpenAI’s recently-launched GPT-4. In response, the committee agreed on landmark proposals targeting generative AI, which would force companies like OpenAI to disclose any copyright material used to train their models. The Biden administration has also held talks with AI company leaders, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, promising a “frank and constructive discussion” on the need for companies to be more transparent about their systems.
