Computer scientist and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton doubled down on his warnings about how artificial intelligence will affect the labor market and the role of companies leading the charge.
Hinton, whose work has earned him a Nobel Prize and the moniker “godfather of AI,” added that while some economists point out previous disruptive technologies created as well as destroyed jobs, it’s not clear to him that AI will do the same.
“I think the big companies are betting on it causing massive job replacement by AI, because that’s where the big money is going to be,” he warned.
When asked if such investments can pay off without destroying jobs, Hinton replied, “I believe that it can’t. I believe that to make money you’re going to have to replace human labor.”
Despite the potential downside for workers, Hinton also sees benefits from AI. When asked if he would go back in time and stop AI from developing, he paused and said he doesn’t know.
“It’s not like nuclear weapons, which are only good for bad things,” he explained. “It’s a difficult decision because it can do tremendous good in healthcare and education. It’ll do tremendous good, and in fact if you think about it increasing productivity in many, many industries, that should be good.”
The problem ultimately is not due to AI itself, but “on how we organize society,” Hinton added.
