A computer scientist often dubbed “the godfather of artificial intelligence” (AI) has quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology, US media reported on Monday.
Geoffrey Hinton, who created a foundation technology for AI systems, told the New York Times that advancements in the field posed “profound risks to society and humanity.”
Photo: Reuters
‘THAT’S SCARY’
“Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now,” he was quoted as saying in the article.
“Take the difference and propagate it forwards. That’s scary,” he said.
Hinton said that competition between tech giants was pushing companies to release new AI technologies at dangerous speeds, risking jobs and spreading misinformation.
“It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things,” he told the Times.
Last year, Google and OpenAI — the start-up behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT — started building systems using much larger amounts of data than before.
Hinton told the Times he believed that these systems were eclipsing human intelligence in some ways because of the amount of data they were analyzing.
“Maybe what is going on in these systems is actually a lot better than what is going on in the brain,” he told the paper.
While AI has been used to support human workers, the rapid expansion of chatbots such as ChatGPT could put jobs at risk.
AI “takes away the drudge work,” but “might take away more than that,” he told the Times.
MISINFORMATION
The researcher also talked about the potential spread of misinformation created by AI, saying that the average person would “not be able to know what is true anymore.”
Hinton notified Google of his resignation last month, the Times reported.
Jeff Dean, lead scientist for Google AI, thanked Hinton in a statement to US media.
“As one of the first companies to publish AI Principles, we remain committed to a responsible approach to AI,” the statement added. “We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks, while also innovating boldly.”
In March, tech billionaire Elon Musk and a range of experts signed an open letter calling for a pause in the development of AI systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.
Hinton did not sign that letter at the time, but told the New York Times that scientists should not “scale this up more until they have understood whether they can control it.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the