6 days ago
‘Godfather of AI' reveals the only way we can stop it wiping out humanity
Hiyah Zaidi Published August 14, 2025 3:18pm Updated August 14, 2025 3:18pm Link is copied Comments If you want to live, let AI mother you. That's the advice of Dr Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the 'Godfather of AI', who fears the very technology he helped to create could wipe out humanity. Previously, he said that there is a 10-20% chance that AI could wipe out humans, which is very high. And as we almost battle to keep AI 'submissive' he fears things could go wrong – but says there is a way we can fix it using an example from nature. So what is it? (Picture: LUNDAHL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Dr Hinton is known as the 'Godfather of AI' because of his pioneering work in developing artificial neural networks, which is the core of machine learning. His work helped accelerate AI's advancement, and it's this work that helped him win the Nobel Prize in physics. Now, he's warned that AI systems will be able to control humans like an adult can bribe children with candy. And AI models are starting to show some worrying traits — in one pretend scenario to test the model, when an AI system learnt that it was about to be replaced by another AI system, it attempted to blackmail an engineer after learning about their affair through company emails (Picture: Getty) But Dr Hinton has another idea. He suggests that humans should build 'maternal instincts' into AI models, which will make them really care about us. So, even when they become more powerful and smarter than humans, they won't harm us. He said AI systems 'will very quickly develop two subgoals, if they're smart: One is to stay alive… (and) the other subgoal is to get more control. There is good reason to believe that any kind of agentic AI will try to stay alive' (Picture: Getty) Speaking at Ai4, an industry conference in Las Vegas, he said that mothers have instinct and social pressure to care for their babies. He said: 'The right model is the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing, which is a mother being controlled by her baby.' He added: 'We need AI mothers rather than AI assistants. An assistant is someone you can fire. You can't fire your mother, thankfully.' However, he said it's not clear how this could be achieved (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock) According to Dr Hinton, most experts think AI will surpass the human mind in around five to 20 years. Or even sooner. And these will be systems that are more capable than any person alive, which he doubts we will be able to control once they arrive. He said: 'They're going to be much smarter than us. Imagine you were in charge of a playground of three-year-olds and you worked for them. It wouldn't be very hard for them to get around you if they were smarter' (Picture: Getty) However, not everyone agrees with this. Speaking to CNN, Dr Fei-Fei Li, who is known as 'the godmother of AI', said she respectfully disagrees with her longtime friend Dr Hinton. She said: 'I think that's the wrong way to frame it.' She added: 'It's our responsibility at every single level to create and use technology in the most responsible way. And at no moment, not a single human should be asked or should choose to let go of our dignity. Just because a tool is powerful, as a mother, as an educator and as an inventor, I really believe this is the core of how AI should be centered' (Picture: Getty) But despite being concerned that AI will overhaul humanity, Dr Hinton does think the bot can have some useful applications in the area of healthcare. He said that through using medical scans and patient records, AI will be able to deliver faster diagnosis. However, he is doubtful that AI could stop ageing. He said: 'Living forever would be a big mistake. Do you want the world run by 200-year-old white men?' (Picture: Canadian Press/Shutterstock)
