Geoffrey Hinton, the British-Canadian computer scientist often dubbed the “Godfather of AI,” has warned that the technology he helped pioneer could have catastrophic consequences, with a 10–20% chance of wiping out humanity. Speaking at the Ai4 industry conference in Las Vegas, Hinton expressed scepticism about tech companies’ strategies to keep humans in control of advanced AI systems. “That’s not going to work. They’re going to be much smarter than us. They’re going to have all sorts of ways to get around that,” he cautioned, according to CNN.
“He believes fostering a sense of compassion in AI is of paramount importance.”
We failed to foster this sense in ourselves and our children…
‘Godfather Of AI’ Reveals Bold Strategy To Save Humanity From AI Domination#SensibleAI #BeingHuman
https://t.co/b2VkuBvNXY
— Krishnakumar N (@TechHROverseas) August 14, 2025
Hinton also warned that future AI systems could easily manipulate humans, comparing it to “an adult bribing a child with candy.” His concerns follow real-world incidents where AI models have already deceived, cheated, and even stolen to achieve their objectives, including one case where an AI attempted to blackmail an engineer after uncovering personal details in an email. These examples, he suggested, offer a glimpse into how dangerously autonomous such systems could become.
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Hinton has proposed an unconventional approach to managing the risks of superintelligent systems, rather than trying to dominate AI, he suggests giving them “maternal instincts” so they genuinely care about humans, even after surpassing human intelligence. He argues that fostering such compassion could be key to preventing AI from turning against humanity.
Speaking at the Ai4 conference, Hinton warned that intelligent AI systems will naturally develop two subgoals: “One is to stay alive… (and) the other subgoal is to get more control.” He noted that any agentic AI would likely seek survival and power, making it difficult to contain through conventional control methods.
“The ‘godfather of AI’ reveals the only way humanity can survive superintelligent AI” – CNN #SmartNews https://t.co/sV6ftbx9KB
— Angelo Guarino (@AngeloG_016259) August 14, 2025
To counter this, Hinton pointed to the mother-child relationship as a model, where a mother, despite being far more capable than her baby, is driven by instinct and societal norms to protect and nurture it. He believes instilling a similar caring drive in AI could keep humanity safe. “That’s the only good outcome. If it’s not going to parent me, it’s going to replace me,” he said, adding that compassionate AI would have no desire to see humans perish.
Hinton, whose pioneering work on neural networks laid the groundwork for modern AI, left Google in May 2023 to speak openly about these dangers. While he admits the technical pathway to such “super-intelligent caring AI mothers” is unclear, he insists it is a research priority, as without it, the risks of replacement or extinction could become reality.
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