AI regulation: Hinton says ‘a start,’ needs to ‘have teeth’

So-called godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton says he’s “pleased” governments are starting to take artificial intelligence, and the possible regulations of it, seriously.

“There is a lot of interest in government about what regulations could be used to make it safer,” Hinton said on CTV News Channel’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Thursday. “Unfortunately, it’s a very difficult problem, it’s not like fixing a roof, it’s difficult to make it safe.”

Halting AI development while governments catch up, however, is likely unrealistic, Hinton said.

The world-renowned academic said regulation of the technology is “a start,” but it needs to “have teeth.”

“I think the big companies should be required to put a lot of work into investigating how these things might try and escape control before they’re more intelligent than us,” he said.

Hinton’s interview comes as many are calling on Premier Doug Ford’s government to keep the Ontario Science Centre open, after it was recently abruptly closed due to structural problems with the building’s roof.

The repairs would cost millions of dollars, according to Ford, while Hinton has committed $1 million of his own funds to the repairs.

Hinton said while the project is something the government should “obviously” be funding, private donations could pick up the slack to avoid damaging Toronto’s reputation in losing the facility.

“It’s something we need to do for our children,” Hinton said. “In the future, children are going to need to understand as much as they can about science, because with the developments in AI, we’ve got a somewhat scary future coming, and understanding science is going to be a very good thing.”

Hinton in his interview also discussed the U.S. presidential election, saying he believes people should be “inoculated” against the risks posed by democratic interference, misinformation and disinformation — specifically when it comes to AI-generated fake videos — by exposing them to the content.

“We don’t want them to go viral,” he said. “And you need the same technique as you use for protecting against viruses, you give an attenuated version of it so people can develop resistance.”

You can watch Hinton’s full interview in the video player at the top of this article.