AI will end human civilisation in 10 years:’Godfather of AI’ says, ‘We have never seen technology more intelligent than humans; difficult to predict danger’

AI has developed rapidly over the past few years, but early technology pioneers are becoming increasingly concerned about its long-term dangers. Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known as the ‘godfather’ of AI, has warned that AI could end human civilisation within the next 10 years. Speaking on a programme, computer scientist Hinton said the likelihood of this happening was around 10%. However, he also acknowledged that there was no reliable way to accurately estimate the threat. Accurately assessing the risk is difficult at present Hinton said, “In my view, the estimate of a 10% risk is not wrong.” He added that it would also be incorrect to put the figure much lower, because no one currently knows how to accurately assess this risk. 30-50-year threat window now down to 10 years Hinton revealed that the timeline for threats posed by AI has now changed significantly. He previously believed that it would take 30 to 50 years for AI to pose a threat to human existence. Later, he reduced that estimate to 10 to 20 years. He now believes that this threat could emerge within the next 10 years or even sooner. He also acknowledged that several researchers estimate an even shorter timeframe. AI companies accused of ‘playing with human lives’ Hinton’s warning about the dangers of AI comes at a time when global debate on the issue has intensified. Recently, former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from his position. Coxon estimated that there was more than a 10% chance of AI wiping out humanity within 10 years. He accused AI companies of gambling with human lives in the race to create self-improving superintelligence. In addition, Anthropic safety researcher Evan Hubinger has also put the likelihood of such a danger at more than 10%. Urgent need for strict global rules: International cooperation is the only solution Hinton says the future could take two different directions. If the risks are managed properly, AI could also bring major benefits to society. For this, he called for strict rules and international cooperation. According to Hinton, all countries have a shared interest in preventing advanced AI systems from slipping beyond human control. The biggest question is whether governments around the world will be able to come together and establish rules at the right time. Several resignations in opposition to AI Former Google DeepMind security researcher Bilal Chughtai, who was working on AI development, and Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon recently resigned from their positions over the dangers posed by AI. In addition, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for the pace of AI development to be slowed down. What is happening in the world of AI and how will it affect our lives? Understand it through four questions: Question 1: What does the claim that “AI could kill us all by 2030” mean? Answer: On 1 November 2023, 28 countries, including India, and the European Union acknowledged serious threats linked to AI, such as cyberattacks, disinformation and loss of control. The bloc said the danger would arise if future, highly powerful AI systems went beyond human control and caused such extensive damage that the very existence of human civilisation was threatened. Microsoft founder Bill Gates wrote in 2023, “AI could control humans. If it decides that humans are a threat to it, it will stop listening to us.” Question 2: What is happening in the world of AI that has everyone worried? Answer: There are two major reasons behind these concerns… 1. AI is becoming superintelligent 2. AI Has Begun Outsmarting Humans Question 3: So, can AI not be controlled? Answer: Efforts are under way, but these systems cannot yet be considered completely reliable. Question 4: How could AI change our lives over the next few years? Answer: Dario Amodei claims that half of all entry-level jobs will disappear because of AI in the next one to five years. The global unemployment rate will reach 20% over the next five years. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI will also create new types of work and jobs. During an AI summit held in India, Dario Amodei had claimed, “AI is capable of finding cures for diseases that have remained without treatment for years.”