'Godfather of AI' warns tech giants can't make a profit unless they replace human labor with artificial intelligence / “Not likely. Not possible. Must”
Geoffrey Hinton is one of the two laureates of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, PHOTO: Chris Young / AP / Profimedia
The economic logic of the AI revolution doesn't allow much room for human labor, says Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist who helped invent the technology behind ChatGPT, according to Fortune.
In an interview on Bloomberg TV's Wall Street Week on Friday, Geoffrey Hinton said the obvious way to make money from investing in AI, other than charging for the use of chatbots, is to replace human labor with something cheaper.
“To make money, you're going to have to replace human labor,” Hinton said. “Not likely. Not possible. Must.”
Hinton, whose work has earned him a Nobel Prize and the nickname “the godfather of AI,” added that while some economists point out that previous disruptive technologies have created but also destroyed jobs, it's not clear to him whether artificial intelligence will do the same.
“I think the big companies are betting that AI is going to massively replace jobs, because that's where a lot of the money is going to be made,” he said.
His comments contradict claims by CEOs who say AI will only “supplement” the work of employees, according to Bloomberg. With Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon all set to spend a record $420 billion on AI-related investments next year, up from $360 billion, Hinton says the calculations don't add up unless these systems take over tasks currently performed by humans.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has announced infrastructure deals totaling $1 trillion in recent weeks with AI ecosystem companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and Oracle.
In September, Hinton also warned that AI “will create massive unemployment and a huge increase in profits”, attributing this to the capitalist system. An analysis confirms his words. Since the launch of ChatGPT, the number of available jobs has fallen by almost 30%, with companies such as Amazon cutting tens of thousands of positions under the guise of “increasing efficiency”.
Despite the potential downsides for workers, Hinton also sees benefits to AI. Asked if he would stop AI development if he could go back in time, he replied: “It's not like nuclear weapons, which are only good for bad things.”
“It's a difficult decision because (AI) can bring enormous benefits in health and education. It will bring enormous benefits, and actually if you think about it helping[toincreaseproductivityinmanymanyindustriesitshouldbeagoodthingUltimatelytheproblemisnotAIitselfbutthewayweorganizesociety”thecomputerscientistsaid[lacreștereaproductivitățiiînmultemulteindustriiartrebuisăfieunlucrubunÎnceledinurmăproblemanusedatoreazăAIînsineciamoduluiîncareorganizămsocietatea”aspusinformaticianul
