Geoffrey Hinton ‘Godfather of AI’ Warns of Mass Unemployment

According to Geoffrey Hinton, the "Godfather of AI", certain occupations are less vulnerable to AI's replacement than others.

Hinton stated that AI has the potential to result in widespread unemployment, particularly in white-collar jobs, in an interview that was broadcast on 17 June on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast.

Hinton restated his claim that AI is better and said he believes AI would simply replace all people in mundane intellectual labour. White-collar jobs are referred to as "mundane intellectual labour".

Additionally, he clarified that AI would assume the human form and perform tasks that were previously performed by ten people.

Because of the possibility of automation, Hinton stated that he would be "terrified" to work in a call centre at this time. But he noted that it will take longer for AI to displace blue-collar jobs.

"I think it will be a long time before AI is as good at physical manipulation," Hinton stated in the podcast. Therefore, being a plumber would be a wise choice, he added.

AI Creating New Jobs is a Myth-Hinton

Hinton questioned the idea that AI will lead to the creation of new jobs in the podcast, pointing out that if AI were to automate intellectual work, human labour would become scarce.

According to Hinton, a task that AI simply couldn't perform requires a highly skilled individual. In an effort to please its investors, OpenAI recently revealed plans to restructure its business, turning its for-profit division into a public benefit corporation (PBC).

 As per a media site, OpenAI stated that the plan will enable it to generate additional funds in order to stay competitive in the costly AI race.

Some critics, however, expressed alarm, saying that while the proposal may be a positive beginning, it falls short of providing sufficient assurance that OpenAI will remain true to its initial goal of creating artificial intelligence for the good of humanity.

Geoffrey Hinton and former OpenAI staff members are among the detractors. They said that the proposed restructure of OpenAI would have prioritised the financial interests of investors over the general welfare.

According to a media report, Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI and current rival through his business xAI, also opposed the plan on the same reasons and is suing OpenAI for violating the terms of the company's founding agreement.

About Geoffrey Hinton

The 78-year-old Geoffrey Hinton is known as the "Godfather of AI" because of his work on neural networks, which he began in the late 1970s. He teaches computer science at the University of Toronto and was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in machine learning (ML).