When ChatGPT launched back in 2022, the AI tool was all that people could talk about. In just a few days, its parent company OpenAI gained popularity and CEO Sam Altman became a household name. However, with the launch of ChatGPT, several questions about AI (artificial intelligence) and its impact on humanity also surfaced. While a set of experts believed that AI would lead to creation of new opportunities and help humans in their day-to-day lives, another set of people argued that AI might replace humans altogether. Geoffrey Hinton, who is considered to be one of the godfathers of AI, has also been warning about the technology’s impact since last year.
Now, Hinton has again talked about his concerns surrounding AI. While speaking to BBC, Hinton said that AI could take away mundane human jobs and this gets him quite worried. He also added that the emerging tech will indeed contribute to productivity and generate wealth. However, this wealth will only fall into the hands of the rich. In other words, even if AI benefits the world and generates wealth, it will be in the hands of the rich only and not “the people whose jobs get lost and that’s going to be very bad for society.”
A solution to this, as per Hinton, is a basic income provided by the government so that the people don’t suffer due to AI. “I was consulted by people in Downing Street and I advised them that universal basic income was a good idea,” Hinton told the publication.
As mentioned already, Hinton is known as one of the godfathers of AI. He worked at Google for over a decade and played a vital role in advancing artificial intelligence. He, along with his two students, created a neural network that served as the basis of ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard chatbots. However, Hinton soon realised the dangers of his own creation and left his job at Google to warn the world about the risks of the emerging technology.
In October last year, during an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Hinton had talked about the possibility of AI manipulating human beings. He had said that we might have “things” more intelligent than us for the first time ever.
“They will be able to manipulate people, right?” he said and added, “And these will be very good at convincing people because they’ll have learned from all the novels that were ever written — all the books by Machiavelli, all the political connivances, they’ll know all that stuff. They’ll know how to do it,” he had said.
