‘Godfather’ of AI Quits His Position at Google, Warns of AI’s Potential Risks to Society

The 2023 Met Gala happened on May 1 (Monday) and the event was crawling with celebrities.

Images of Selena Gomez was later posted on Twitter, showcasing her in a blue-beaded dress at fashion’s biggest night but the problem is, she wasn’t actually there. The photos were created through artificial intelligence (AI), building a false narrative of her presence at the event.

Just yesterday, it was reported that the ‘Godfather’ of AI, Geoffrey Hinton had resigned from his position at Google in an effort to be able to freely speak out on the dangers of artificial intelligence, including its ability to create false imagery and text that can easily fool regular folks. He has also revealed that he now regrets his work in the field.

Hinton expressed concerns that AI could potentially eliminate jobs and create a world where many will “not be able to know what is true anymore”.

“The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people – a few people believe that. But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that”, he added.

In 2021, Hinton shared his belief that “the rapid progress of AI is going to transform society in ways we do not fully understand and not all of the effects are going to be good.”

Prior to this, many others have also stepped up to warn of AI’s potential to do just as much harm as good.

This includes a letter signed by prominent figures in the tech field such as Elon Musk, to stop the training of the most powerful AI systems for the time being due to the “profound risks to society and humanity”.

Earlier, an engineer at Google was fired for breaching employment and data security policies for claiming that an unreleased AI system had become sentient.

What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

Also read: These Scientists Got Arrested For Trying To Warn Us Of Potential Destruction & We NEED To Listen