Geoffrey Hinton wishes he thought of AI safety sooner

Geoffrey Hinton says he doesn’t regret the work he did that laid the foundation for artificial intelligence, but wishes he thought of safety sooner.

The British-Canadian computer scientist says the technology has now progressed so fast that he thinks it could achieve superintelligence in the next five to 20 years.

Superintelligence is intelligence that surpasses even the smartest humans.

When superintelligence happens, Hinton says humanity will have to seriously worry about how it can stay in control.

His remarks came at a press conference in Stockholm, where Hinton is due to a receive the Nobel Prize in psychics on Tuesday.

Hinton and co-laureate John Hopfield are being given the prize because they developed some of the underpinnings of machine learning, a computer science that helps AI mimic how humans learn.

 This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2024.