## AI Godfather Geoffrey Hinton Issues Grave Warnings About Artificial Intelligence **News Title:** AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton fires nuclear bomb warning: A normal person in the street can **Publisher:** The Times of India **Author:** TOI Tech Desk **Published Date:** September 6, 2025 ### Summary of Key Findings and Concerns: Geoffrey Hinton, a highly influential figure in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has publicly shifted his stance from advocating for AI development to expressing profound concerns about its potential for harm. This change in perspective is attributed to the recent surge in public interest and adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT. **Core Concerns and Warnings:** * **Existential Threats:** Hinton now believes that AI poses a "grave threat to humanity." He specifically highlights the potential for AI to be misused for creating weapons of mass destruction. * **Nuclear Bomb Creation:** Hinton stated, "the technology can help any person to create a nuclear bomb." * **Bioweapon Creation:** He elaborated on this, saying, "A normal person assisted by AI will soon be able to build bioweapons and that is terrible." He further emphasized this by asking, "Imagine if an average person in the street could make a nuclear bomb." * **AI's Superior Capabilities:** Hinton cautions that AI could soon surpass human capabilities, including in the realm of emotional manipulation. He suggests that AI's ability to learn from vast datasets allows it to influence human feelings and behaviors more effectively than humans. * **Debate on AI Intelligence:** Hinton's concerns are rooted in his belief that AI is genuinely intelligent. He argues that, by any definition, AI is intelligent and that its experience of reality is not fundamentally different from a human's. He stated, "If you talk to these things and ask them questions, it understands." He also noted, "There's very little doubt in the technical community that these things will get smarter." **Counterarguments and Disagreement:** * **Yann LeCun's Perspective:** Hinton's former colleague and co-winner of the Turing Award, Yann LeCun, who is currently the chief AI scientist at Meta, disagrees with Hinton's assessment. LeCun believes that large language models are limited and lack the ability to meaningfully interact with the physical world. **Other Noteworthy Points:** * Hinton also discussed his personal use of AI tools and even a personal anecdote where a chatbot played a role in his recent breakup. **Overall Trend:** The news highlights a significant shift in perspective from a leading AI pioneer, moving from promoting AI to issuing stark warnings about its potential dangers, particularly concerning its misuse for creating weapons and its capacity for manipulation. This raises critical questions about the future development and regulation of AI.
AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton fires nuclear bomb warning: A normal person in the street can - The Times of India
Read original at The Times of India →Geoffrey Hinton, a leading figure in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), has sounded an alarm about the technologys potential for harm. The recent public frenzy over AI tools like ChatGPT has caused Hinton to shift from accelerating AI development to raising deep concerns about its future. He now believes that AI poses a grave threat to humanity, saying that the technology can help any person to create a nuclear bomb.
Hinton described a chilling scenario where AI could enable an average person to create a bioweapon.A normal person assisted by AI will soon be able to build bioweapons and that is terrible, he said, adding, Imagine if an average person in the street could make a nuclear bomb.Hinton also discussed a range of topics, including the nuclear-level threats posed by AI, his own use of AI tools, and even how a chatbot played a role in his recent breakup.
Recently, Hinton cautioned that AI could soon surpass human capabilities, including emotional manipulation. He suggested that AI's ability to learn from vast datasets enables it to influence human feelings and behaviours more effectively than humans.Hinton debates the definition of IntelligenceHintons concern stems from his belief that AI is truly intelligent.
He argued that, by any definition of the term, AI is intelligent. He used several analogies to explain that an AI's experience of reality is not so different from a humans.It seems very obvious to me. If you talk to these things and ask them questions, it understands, Hinton explained. Theres very little doubt in the technical community that these things will get smarter, he added.
However, not everyone agrees with Hinton's view. His former colleague and co-winner of the Turing Award, Yann LeCun, who is now the chief AI scientist at Meta, believes that large language models are limited and cannot meaningfully interact with the physical world.What Is Artificial Intelligence? Explained Simply With Real-Life Examples
