A distress call for artificial intelligence

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On May 1, The New York Times announced that Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called "godfather of AI", had resigned from Google. The reason he gave for this decision is that it will allow him to speak freely about the risks of artificial intelligence (AI).

His decision is both surprising and unsurprising. The first since devoting his life to advancing AI technology; the latter given his growing concerns expressed in recent interviews.

There is symbolism in this announcement date. May Day is May Day, known for celebrating workers and the flowering of spring. Ironically, AI, and in particular generative AI based on deep learning neural networks, can displace much of the workforce. We are already starting to see this impact, for example at IBM.

AI replacing jobs and getting closer to superintelligence?

No doubt more will follow, as the World Economic Forum estimates that 25% of jobs could be disrupted over the next five years, with AI playing a role. When it comes to spring bloom, generative AI could spark a new beginning of symbiotic intelligence – of man and machine working together in ways that lead to a rebirth of possibility and abundance. /p> Event

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Alternatively, this could be the time when the advancement of AI begins to approach superintelligence, perhaps posing an exponential threat.

It's those kinds of worries and concerns that Hinton wants to talk about, and he couldn't do that while working for Google or any other company pursuing commercial AI development. As Hinton said in a Twitter post: "I left so I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering the impact it has on Google."

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It may just be a pun, but the announcement date conjures up another association: Mayday, a distress signal commonly used when there is immediate and serious danger. A Mayday signal should be used when there is a real emergency, as it is a priority call to respond to a situation. Is the timing of this news merely a coincidence, or is it meant to symbolically add to its significance?

According to the Times article, Hinton's immediate concern is the ability of AI to produce human-grade content in text, video, and images and how that ability can be used by bad actors to spread disinformation and misinformation such as t...