AI 'Godfather' Geoffrey Hinton Warns Tech Giants Must Replace Human Workers to Profit from Massive AI Investments

'Godfather of AI' says tech giants can't profit from their astronomical investments unless human labor is replaced | Fortune

Computer scientist and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton doubled down on his warnings about how artificial intelligence will affect the labor market and the role of companies leading the charge. In an interview with Bloomberg TV's Wall Street Week on Friday, he said the obvious way to make money off AI investments, aside from charging fees to use chatbots, is to replace workers with something cheaper. Hinton, whose work has earned him a Nobel Prize and the moniker "godfather of AI," added that while some economists point out previous disruptive technologies created as well as destroyed jobs, it's not clear to him that AI will do the same. "I think the big companies are betting on it causing massive job replacement by AI, because that's where the big money is going to be," he warned. Meanwhile, OpenAI alone has announced a total of $1 trillion in infrastructure deals in recent weeks with AI-ecosystem companies like Nvidia, Broadcom and Oracle. When asked if such investments can pay off without destroying jobs, Hinton replied, "I believe that it can't. I believe that to make money you're going to have to replace human labor." The remarks echo what he said in September, when he told the Financial Times that AI will "create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits," attributing it to the capitalist system. In fact, evidence is mounting that AI is shrinking opportunities, especially at the entry level, and an analysis of job openings since OpenAI launched ChatGPT shows they plummeted roughly 30%. And this past week, Amazon announced 14,000 layoffs, largely in middle management. While CEO Andy Jassy said the decision was due to "culture" and not AI, a memo he sent in June predicted a smaller corporate workforce "as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company." Despite the potential downside for workers, Hinton also sees benefits from AI. When asked if he would go back in time and stop AI from developing, he paused and said he doesn't know. "It's not like nuclear weapons, which are only good for bad things," he explained. "It's a difficult decision because it can do tremendous good in healthcare and education. It'll do tremendous good, and in fact if you think about it increasing productivity in many, many industries, that should be good." The problem ultimately is not due to AI itself, but "on how we organize society," Hinton added.

'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Warns AI Job Replacement Central To Tech Giants' Profit Strategy Amid Rising AI Investments - Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, dubbed the "Godfather of AI," said that artificial intelligence firms are placing bets on the widespread replacement of jobs to maximize their profits. Tech Giants Boost AI Capital Spending Four AI hyperscalers, including Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), are anticipated to increase capital expenditures to $420 billion next fiscal year from $360 billion this year, according to a Bloomberg TV interview via Fortune. OpenAI also announced $1 trillion in infrastructure agreements with Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO), and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), a move that has drawn scrutiny due to the widely cited $13 billion revenue figure. See Also: 'I'm Envious Of The Current Generation Of 20-Year-Old Dropouts,' Says Sam Altman, Admitting He Hasn't Had A 'Real Chunk Of Free Mental Space' In Years Job Market Shows Decline Geoffrey Hinton said, "I believe that to make money you're going to have to replace human labor," when asked if AI investments can pay off without destroying jobs. Hinton added Since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, job openings have dropped roughly 30%, and Amazon announced 14,000 layoffs this week, mostly in middle management. Hinton added, "Since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, job openings have dropped roughly 30%, and Amazon announced 14,000 layoffs this week, mostly in middle management." Investor Chamath Palihapitiya, however, had earlier disputed that AI is to blame for the decline. Productivity Gains Versus Labor Impact According to the report, Hinton told Bloomberg that rather than AI technology per se, the issue lies "on how we organize society." AI will result in "massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits," he told the Financial Times in September. By increasing productivity, AI can do "tremendous good in healthcare and education," according to the computer scientist. Hinton's worries were echoed in a Senate report by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which warned that within ten years, automation and artificial intelligence could replace almost 100 million jobs in the United States. Read Next: Sam Altman Says OpenAI Revenue Exceeds $13 Billion Estimate, Says Could Reach $100 Billion By 2027 Photo: Shutterstock Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. AMZNAmazon.com Inc$244.309.62%OverviewAVGOBroadcom Inc$369.74-1.79%GOOGAlphabet Inc$281.47-0.15%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$280.71-0.27%METAMeta Platforms Inc$651.14-2.30%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$517.71-1.53%NVDANVIDIA Corp$202.62-0.13%ORCLOracle Corp$262.342.12%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs