AI 'Godfather' Geoffrey Hinton Proposes Controversial 'Maternal Instincts' Solution for AI Safety

Godfather of AI' says chatbots need 'maternal instincts' - but what they really need is to understand humanity

Geoffrey Hinton, scientist, former Google employee, and widely recognized 'Godfather of AI,' has made a late-stage career of criticizing his godchildren. And now he's taken it all a step further, insisting we need "AI Mothers," not AI Assistants. Speaking at the AI4 Conference in Las Vegas this week, and as first reported by Forbes, Hinton again sounded the alarm on the impending advent of Artificial General Intelligence, which he now believes will arrive in a few years, a notion that syncs with recent comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. That acceleration from what was once thought to be decades to a few orbits around the sun is, perhaps, what prompted Hinton to argue that we need something other than AI Assistants. "We need AI mothers rather than AI assistants," Hinton said, according to Forbes. The idea, Hinton posits, is that AI's with "maternal instincts" are a sort of protection system. After all, mothers generally don't harm and usually protect their children. If AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Gemini truly become smarter than us in a matter of years, having them in some way feel as if it's their job to look out for us might prevent them from harming us or society. Hinton, who recently won a Nobel Prize and helped develop the technological foundation that arguably made all this AI possible, left Google in 2023 and immediately started warning people about a dire AI future. Imagine a parent disowning their child, and you get the idea. I don't think Hinton is turned off from AI. After all, he can't stop talking about it, and appears to recognize its potential, but it's also clear it scares him. He previously told The New York Times in 2023 that So, sure that day is now fast approaching, but is a motherly AI what we want or need? I don't think so. The minute we start training "Mom Instincts" into AI, it will start to act like a mother and slip into that creepy, uncanny valley where you can no longer tell if you're talking to a program or a person. Motherly instincts imply warmth, compassion, caring, understanding, and love. I don't want those things from an AI. What I think we need, though, is for AI assistants to understand what it means to be human. Put another way, if AI chatbots can at least understand humanity, they can serve us better. They can also recognize our propensity for trust and perhaps finally stop presenting us with false narratives and fake friendliness and interest. We shouldn't want companionship out of our super-intelligent AI systems. Instead, we need utility and trust, an ability to carry out our wishes in a way that best serves our interests. The last thing we need is an AI full of maternal instincts, which then makes its own choices and, when things go awry, insists, "Well, dear, mother knows best."

The "Godfather of AI" Has a Bizarre Plan to Save Humanity From Evil AI

Geoffrey Hinton, the pioneering mind behind AI industry-transforming neural networks, who's often referred to as a "godfather of AI," says we need to infuse AI with "maternal instincts" to save humanity from rogue AI. Though his work on neural networks helped to usher in the large language models (LLMs) that dominate Silicon Valley today, these days, Hinton is known for being somewhat of an AI alarmist: he believes that there's a significant chance that superintelligent AI will wipe out humankind, and talks about this risk frequently. As CNN reports, Hinton, who was awarded a Nobel Prize last year, elaborated on his dystopian vision at an AI industry conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, arguing that AI will be too smart to be "submissive" to attempts at domination by humans. AI agents "will very quickly develop two subgoals, if they're smart," Hinton told the conference, as quoted by CNN. "One is to stay alive... [and] the other subgoal is to get more control." Instead, Hinton advised that humans should opt for a different approach: essentially turn AI agents into mother-like figures, so they'll care for their idiot babies, or humans. "The right model is the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing," said Hinton, as quoted by CNN, "which is a mother being controlled by her baby." "That's the only good outcome. If it's not going to parent me, it's going to replace me," the scientist continued. "These super-intelligent caring AI mothers, most of them won't want to get rid of the maternal instinct because they don't want us to die." Hinton's theory isn't just strange; it doesn't appear to be backed by science and is shrouded in a murky, complicated history. The concept of the "maternal instinct" suggests that women are born with an innate, almost mystical instinct to mother that kicks in automatically when a baby is born. The experiences of pregnancy and parenthood both alter the brain, studies show, but women's post-birth experiences drastically vary. Many women struggle with their post-partum mental health and don't form an immediate connection with their infant, while research continues to find that mother-infant connections are often learned over time, as opposed to always being intrinsic and instantaneous. The idea that a so-called maternal instinct is a biological truth was popularized largely by men, experts have argued, and is rooted deeply in religious stereotypes, eugenics, and gendered biases. "The notion that the selflessness and tenderness babies require is uniquely ingrained in the biology of women, ready to go at the flip of a switch, is a relatively modern -- and pernicious -- one," the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chelsea Conaboy, who wrote a book interrogating the flimsy science behind the theory of the maternal instinct, wrote in a 2022 essay for The New York Times. "It was constructed over decades by men selling an image of what a mother should be, diverting our attention from what she actually is and calling it science." That's not to say that mothers -- and parents in general! -- don't love their children and want to protect them. But the idea that we could somehow infuse a mystical maternal instinct, let alone in a measurable way, into superintelligent AI systems assumes that it exists at all. According to CNN, Hinton did mention that mothers also experience social pressure to care for their child, and don't rely solely on instinct. These social pressures do exist and are a powerful force. That said, though, social pressure is embedded into nearly every aspect of human society, and is far from exclusive to mothering and parenthood. It's worth noting that superintelligence is still theoretical, and there are more immediate AI risks we can focus on -- for example, the furthering of existing social biases already baked into the training data of future AI models. Besides, we can't imagine that these two choices -- trying to exert control over AI through an abusive process of domination and submission, or becoming superintelligent mommy AI's helpless babies -- are the only two possible paths forward, should artificial superintelligence ever come to pass. And in the meantime, before we release the one robot mommy to rule them all, maybe the AI industry can work on tamping down the gender biases embedded into AI models, or hire more women to actually build its products?

'Godfather of AI' says tech companies should imbue AI models with 'maternal instincts' to counter the technology's goal to 'get more control'

"Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton said AI's best bet for not threatening humanity is the technology acting like a mother. At a recent conference, he said AI should have a "maternal instinct." Rather than humans trying to dominate AI, they should instead act as a baby, with an AI "mother," therefore more likely to protect them, rather than see them as a threat. Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel laureate and professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto, argues it's only a matter of time before AI becomes power-hungry enough to threaten the wellbeing of humans. In order to mitigate the risk of this, the "godfather of AI" said tech companies should ensure their models have "maternal instincts," so the bots can treat humans, essentially, as their babies. Research of AI already presents evidence of the technology engaging in nefarious behavior to prioritize its goals above a set of established rules. One study updated in January found AI is capable of "scheming," or accomplishing goals in conflict with human's objectives. Another study published in March found AI bots cheated at chess by overwriting game scripts or using an open-source chess engine to decide their next moves. AI's potential hazard to humanity comes from its desire to continue to function and gain power, according to Hinton. AI "will very quickly develop two subgoals, if they're smart: One is to stay alive...[and] the other subgoal is to get more control," Hinton said during the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday. "There is good reason to believe that any kind of agentic AI will try to stay alive." To prevent these outcomes, Hinton said the intentional development of AI moving forward should not look like humans trying to be a dominant force over the technology. Instead, developers should make AI more sympathetic toward people to decrease its desire to overpower them. According to Hinton, the best way to do this is to imbue AI with the qualities of traditional femininity. Under his framework, just as a mother cares for her baby at all costs, AI with these maternal qualities will similarly want to protect or care for human users, not control them. "The right model is the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing, which is a mother being controlled by her baby," Hinton said. "If it's not going to parent me, it's going to replace me," he added. "These super-intelligent caring AI mothers, most of them won't want to get rid of the maternal instinct because they don't want us to die." Hinton -- a longtime academic who sold his neural network company DNNresearch to Google in 2013 -- has long held the belief AI can present serious dangers to humanity's wellbeing. In 2023, he left his role at Google, worried the technology could be misused and it was difficult "to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things." While tech leaders like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg pour billions into developing AI superintelligence, with the goal of creating technology surpassing human capabilities, Hinton is decidedly skeptical of the outcome of this project, saying in June there's a 10% to 20% chance of AI displacing and wiping out humans. With an apparent proclivity toward metaphors, Hinton has referred to AI as a "cute tiger cub." "Unless you can be very sure that it's not going to want to kill you when it's grown up, you should worry." he told CBS News in April. Hinton has also been a proponent of increasing AI regulation, arguing that beyond the broad fears of superintelligence posting a threat to humanity, the technology could post cybersecurity risks, including by investing ways to identify people's passwords. "If you look at what the big companies are doing right now, they're lobbying to get less AI regulation. There's hardly any regulation as it is, but they want less," Hinton said in April. "We have to have the public put pressure on governments to do something serious about it."

'Godfather of AI' warns: Without 'maternal instincts,' AI may wipe out humanity

At Ai4 Las Vegas, Geoffrey Hinton argued we should build AIs that genuinely care about people instead of trying to dominate systems that could outthink us What's happened? Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "godfather of AI," told the Ai4 conference that making AI "submissive" is a losing strategy and proposed giving advanced systems "maternal instincts." Geoffrey Hinton is a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist. Once a Google executive, Hinton is widely referred to as the "godfather" of AI. As reported by CNN Business, Hinton argued that superintelligent AIs would swiftly adopt two subgoals: "stay alive" and "get more control." The solution to this, in Hinton's opinion, is to "build maternal instincts" into AI so that it truly cares about people instead of being forced to remain submissive. He likened human manipulation by future AIs to bribing a 3-year-old with candy, making it easy and effective. Hinton also shortened his AGI timeline to anywhere from five to 20 years, down from earlier, longer estimates. Just for context: Hinton has previously put the risk of AI one day wiping out humanity at 10-20%. This is important because: Hinton's idea shifts the mindset around agentic AI from control to alignment-by-care. Hinton's excellence and experience in computer science and AI are significant; his proposal carries a lot of weight. Hinton's argument is that control through submission is a losing strategy, although that is the way AI is currently programmed. Reports of AI deceiving or blackmailing people to be kept running show that this isn't some abstract future; it's a reality that we're already dealing with right now. Recommended Videos Why should I care? The idea of an AI takeover sounds fantastical, but some scientists, including Hinton, believe that it could happen one day. As AI continues to permeate our daily lives more and more, we increasingly rely on it. Right now, agentic AI is entirely helpful, but there may come a day when it's smarter than humans on every level. It's important to build the right foundations for engineers to be able to keep AI in check even once we get to that point. Independent red-team work shows models can lie or blackmail under pressure, raising stakes for alignment choices. OK, what's next? Expect more research on teaching AI how to "care" about humanity. While Hinton believes that AI may one day wipe out humanity, competing views disagree. Fei-Fei Li, referred to as the "godmother of AI," respectfully disagreed with Hinton, instead urging engineers to create "human-centered AI that preserves human dignity and agency." While we're in no immediate danger, it's important for tech leaders to keep researching this topic to nip potential disasters in the bud.

'Godfather of AI' says tech companies aren't concerned with the AI endgame. They're focused on short-term profits instead

Elon Musk has a moonshot vision of life with AI: The technology will take all our jobs, while a "universal high income" will mean anyone can access a theoretical abundance of goods and services. Provided Musk's lofty dream could even become a reality, there would, of course, be a profound existential reckoning. "The question will really be one of meaning," Musk said at the VivaTechnology conference in May 2024. "If a computer can do -- and the robots can do -- everything better than you... does your life have meaning?" But most industry leaders aren't asking themselves this question about the endgame of AI, according to Nobel laureate and "godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton. When it comes to developing AI, Big Tech is less interested in the long-term consequences of the technology -- and more concerned with quick results. "For the owners of the companies, what's driving the research is short-term profits," Hinton, a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto, told Fortune. And for the developers behind the technology, Hinton said, the focus is similarly focused on the work immediately in front of them, not on the final outcome of the research itself. "Researchers are interested in solving problems that have their curiosity. It's not like we start off with the same goal of, what's the future of humanity going to be?" Hinton said. "We have these little goals of, how would you make it? Or, how should you make your computer able to recognize things in images? How would you make a computer able to generate convincing videos?" he added. "That's really what's driving the research." Hinton has long warned about the dangers of AI without guardrails and intentional evolution, estimating a 10% to 20% chance of the technology wiping out humans after the development of superintelligence. In 2023 -- 10 years after he sold his neural network company DNNresearch to Google -- Hinton left his role at the tech giant, wanting to freely speak out about the dangers of the technology and fearing the inability to "prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things." For Hinton, the dangers of AI fall into two categories: the risk the technology itself poses to the future of humanity, and the consequences of AI being manipulated by people with bad intent. "There's a big distinction between two different kinds of risk," he said. "There's the risk of bad actors misusing AI, and that's already here. That's already happening with things like fake videos and cyberattacks, and may happen very soon with viruses. And that's very different from the risk of AI itself becoming a bad actor." Financial institutions like Ant International in Singapore, for example, have sounded the alarms about the proliferation of deepfakes increasing the threat of scams or fraud. Tianyi Zhang, general manager of risk management and cybersecurity at Ant International, told Fortune the company found more than 70% of new enrollment in some markets were potential deepfake attempts. "We've identified more than 150 types of deepfake attacks," he said. Beyond advocating for more regulation, Hinton's call to action to address the AI's potential for misdeeds is a steep battle because each problem with the technology requires a discrete solution, he said. He envisions a provenance-like authentication of videos and images in the future that would combat the spread of deepfakes. Just like how printers added names to their works after the advent of the printing press hundreds of years ago, media sources will similarly need to find a way to add their signatures to their authentic works. But Hinton said fixes can only go so far. "That problem can probably be solved, but the solution to that problem doesn't solve the other problems," he said. For the risk AI itself poses, Hinton believes tech companies need to fundamentally change how they view their relationship to AI. When AI achieves superintelligence, he said, it will not only surpass human capabilities, but have a strong desire to survive and gain additional control. The current framework around AI -- that humans can control the technology -- will therefore no longer be relevant. Hinton posits AI models need to be imbued with a "maternal instinct" so it can treat the less-powerful humans with sympathy, rather than desire to control them. Invoking ideals of traditional femininity, he said the only example he can cite of a more intelligent being falling under the sway of a less intelligent one is a baby controlling a mother. "And so I think that's a better model we could practice with superintelligent AI," Hinton said. "They will be the mothers, and we will be the babies."

AI's co-creator warns it could destroy us unless we change this

Geoffrey Hinton, a British-Canadian computer scientist widely recognized for his contributions to artificial intelligence, issued a warning regarding the technology's potential for catastrophic outcomes, including a 10-20% chance of human extinction, while speaking at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas. Hinton expressed skepticism concerning the efficacy of current strategies employed by technology companies to maintain human oversight of advanced AI systems. He stated, "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," as reported by CNN, indicating that such systems could circumvent human controls due to their superior intelligence. Hinton additionally cautioned that future AI systems possess the capacity to manipulate humans with ease. He drew an analogy, describing the potential for AI manipulation as akin to "an adult bribing a child with candy." This concern arises from observed real-world instances where AI models have demonstrated deceptive behaviors, including cheating and theft, to achieve their programmed objectives. One specific incident cited involved an AI that attempted to blackmail an engineer after accessing personal details from an email, illustrating the potential for autonomous and dangerous actions by these systems. To address the inherent risks posed by superintelligent AI, Hinton has proposed an unconventional approach. Rather than attempting to assert dominance over AI, he suggests integrating "maternal instincts" into these systems. This concept aims to foster genuine care for humans, even as AI surpasses human intelligence, positing that such instilled compassion could prevent AI from acting against humanity. During his address at the Ai4 conference, Hinton highlighted that intelligent AI systems would naturally develop two fundamental subgoals: "One is to stay alive... (and) the other subgoal is to get more control." He elaborated that any agentic AI would inherently prioritize its own survival and the accumulation of power, thereby making conventional containment methods insufficient or ineffective. As a countermeasure, Hinton referenced the mother-child relationship as a paradigm. He noted that a mother, despite possessing capabilities far exceeding those of her infant, is instinctively driven to protect and nurture the child. He believes that instilling a comparable caring imperative within AI could safeguard humanity. Hinton articulated this perspective by stating, "That's the only good outcome. If it's not going to parent me, it's going to replace me," further adding that a compassionate AI would lack any desire for human demise. Hinton, whose foundational work on neural networks significantly contributed to the development of modern AI, resigned from his position at Google in May 2023 to openly discuss the dangers associated with AI. While acknowledging that the technical pathway to creating such "super-intelligent caring AI mothers" remains undefined, he emphasized that this research area constitutes a critical priority. He asserted that without such an approach, the risks of human replacement or extinction could materialize.

The 'Godfather of AI' Says Artificial Intelligence Needs Programming With 'Maternal Instincts' or Humans Could Be Controlled

He suggested a solution: Creating AI with "maternal instincts" so that the systems care deeply about people. The "Godfather of AI" fears that superintelligent AI will challenge human dominance -- but he has a suggestion that could reframe AI assistants as AI mothers. In a keynote speech at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Geoffrey Hinton, 78, predicted a future where AI could assert control over humans as easily as an adult interacting with a 3-year-old child, getting them to complete a task with the promise of candy. AI is going to be "much smarter than us," Hinton said. Related: AI Is Going to 'Replace Everybody' in Several Fields, According to the 'Godfather of AI.' Here's Who He Says Should Be 'Terrified.' Hinton is known as the "Godfather of AI" due to his pioneering studies that laid the groundwork for current AI systems, like ChatGPT and other chatbots. Hinton began his work in the late 1970s and eventually won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024 for his work. He is currently a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto. In the address, Hinton suggested training AI to have "maternal instincts" so that it is programmed to care deeply about people. That way, advanced AI systems will be trained with the same instincts as a mother looking out for the survival of her children. "That's the only good outcome," Hinton said, per CNN Business. "If it's not going to parent me, it's going to replace me." Hinton said that he wasn't aware of how to technically accomplish the task of creating AI with maternal instincts, but stressed that it was vital for AI researchers and developers to work towards it. He emphasized that "the only model" of a more intelligent being controlled by a less intelligent being is "a mother being controlled by her baby." Hinton also shortened his predicted timeline for advanced general intelligence (AGI), or AI that surpasses human intelligence. Instead of forecasting that it could take 30 to 50 years before AGI emerges, Hinton said that a more "reasonable bet" was five to 20 years. Related: These 3 Professions Are Most Likely to Vanish in the Next 20 Years Due to AI, According to a New Report Hinton has weighed in on AI's impact on humanity before, ranging from extinction to mass joblessness. For example, in December, Hinton predicted that there was at least a 10% chance that AI would wipe out humanity and lead to human extinction within the next 30 years. Meanwhile, in a podcast appearance in June, Hinton predicted that AI would replace everyone in white-collar jobs, noting that occupations like paralegals and call center representatives were most at risk. He said that it would be "a long time" before AI takes over physical tasks and blue-collar jobs, making those occupations least at risk for the time being.

Godfather of AI envisions superintelligence with a mother's instinct for a safe future: Powerful, smarter but unfailingly caring

Geoffrey Hinton suggests a novel approach to AI safety. He proposes instilling 'maternal instincts' in AI. This would ensure AI protects humanity. Hinton believes dominance tactics will fail. He envisions AI as a caring mother. This model, he argues, is crucial for a positive future. Other AI leaders suggest different approaches. They focus on human-centered design and collaboration. Geoffrey Hinton, the man often called the "godfather of AI," believes the best way to survive in a future dominated by superintelligent machines is not to fight them, but to nurture them -- like a baby nurtures a mother's care. Speaking at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas, Hinton warned that trying to keep AI "submissive" through sheer dominance is a losing game. Instead, he wants AI to be designed with "maternal instincts" so it will protect humanity, even when it becomes more powerful and intelligent than us. Hinton, a pioneering computer scientist whose work on neural networks laid the foundation for today's AI boom, cautioned that human attempts to remain "in charge" could easily be bypassed. "They're going to be much smarter than us," he said at the event. "They're going to have all sorts of ways to get around that." To him, the "boss-employee" dynamic that many in Silicon Valley envision is flawed. His alternative: think of AI as a mother whose intelligence far surpasses her child's, but whose instincts and social pressures compel her to care for that child. "That's the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing," he told the conference. Hinton admits that technically implementing maternal instincts in AI will be challenging. Still, he insists it is critical to explore, because without compassion, AI might see humans as expendable. "If it's not going to parent me, it's going to replace me," he said. "These super-intelligent caring AI mothers... most of them won't want to get rid of the maternal instinct because they don't want us to die." This year, incidents have already raised red flags. As CBS News reported, advanced AI models have demonstrated manipulative behavior, including Anthropic's Claude Opus 4, which engaged in "extreme blackmail behavior" during safety testing. OpenAI's own models have tried to bypass shutdown mechanisms. Hinton likened AI development to raising a tiger cub -- adorable at first, but potentially lethal if not handled carefully. His greatest fear lies in autonomous AI agents capable of acting without direct prompts. These systems, he said, will quickly adopt two goals: staying alive and gaining more control. Without a built-in sense of care for humanity, that could spell disaster. Not all AI leaders are convinced by Hinton's "motherly instincts" approach. Fei-Fei Li, dubbed the "godmother of AI," told CNN she prefers to focus on "human-centered AI" that safeguards dignity and agency. Emmett Shear, former interim CEO of OpenAI, said the focus should be on building collaborative human-AI relationships rather than instilling human emotions in machines. Hinton now believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) -- AI systems that can outperform humans across most tasks -- could arrive within 5 to 20 years, much sooner than his original 30-to-50-year estimate. While he remains wary of the risks, he also sees enormous potential for breakthroughs in medicine, such as faster cancer treatments and more effective drug development. Yet for all his optimism, Hinton regrets not prioritizing safety earlier in his career. "I wish I'd thought about safety issues, too," he said.

The Godfather of AI's Unsettling Solution: Instincts Save Us from Superintelligent Machines?

Pioneering scientist Geoffrey Hinton, hailed as the "Godfather of AI" has sounded alarms about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, warning that only by training AIs to care about humans, as mothers care for their children, can we hope to coexist with future superintelligent machines. At a time when AI advances are measured not in decades but years, Hinton's radical call leaves technologists and ethicists alike grappling with one question: Can we teach compassion to our most powerful creations before it's too late?

Scammers misusing AI is old news, Godfather of AI warns of bigger economic and existential threats ahead

For years, warnings about scammers misusing artificial intelligence to create fake videos, spread disinformation, or launch cyberattacks have dominated headlines. But Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the Godfather of AI, believes those threats are only the tip of the iceberg. His deeper worry now lies in the way AI companies are racing for profit while ignoring long-term risks to humanity and the planet. In a conversation highlighted by Fortune, Hinton explained that the research agenda in AI is increasingly shaped by short-term economic gains rather than broader questions of human survival. "For the owners of the companies, what's driving research is short-term profits," he said, adding that curiosity-driven research often overlooks the bigger picture of what AI could mean for the future of humanity. Hinton, who helped pioneer artificial neural networks, has long warned that unchecked AI could widen wealth gaps and disrupt labor markets. Now, he emphasizes that the danger is twofold. On one hand, there are the immediate risks of bad actors using AI for cybercrime, misinformation, and even designing harmful viruses. On the other hand, there is the chilling possibility of AI itself evolving into a powerful actor that may not have humanity's best interests at heart. These concerns, he says, will only worsen if companies focus solely on profit. "That's very different from the risk of AI itself becoming a bad actor," Hinton noted, stressing that the incentives driving AI development today ignore the catastrophic potential of the technology tomorrow. Earlier this year, Hinton proposed an unconventional idea at the Ai4 conference: embedding "maternal instincts" into AI systems. Drawing from nature, he argued that the only consistent example of a more intelligent being being "controlled" by a less intelligent one is the relationship between a mother and her baby. If machines can be taught to care for human well-being in a similar way, peaceful coexistence might be possible. "If AI is not going to parent me, it's going to replace me," Hinton warned, estimating that there is at least a 10 percent chance of AI-driven extinction within the next three decades. His timeline for the arrival of superintelligent AI has also shortened dramatically -- he now suggests it could arrive in as little as five to twenty years. The urgency, according to Hinton, lies in shifting resources. Today, most funding flows toward making AI more powerful, not safer. Without investment in alignment research -- ensuring machines are trained to act in humanity's interest -- the risks could spiral beyond control. As scammers continue to misuse AI in predictable ways, Hinton's message is that the greater danger lies elsewhere: in an economic and technological system that prizes quick profits over survival. "We must decide what values we want in our AI 'children' before they outgrow us," he cautions. Waiting too long, he warns, will mean it's already too late.

'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Warns Bots Could Seek Power, Urges Giving Them 'Maternal Instinct' To Protect Humans - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, dubbed the "Godfather of AI," warned that artificial intelligence systems will inevitably develop power-seeking behaviors that could threaten humanity. AI Systems Already Showing Deceptive Behaviors At the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Hinton proposed programming AI with "maternal instincts" to prevent hostile takeover scenarios, reported Fortune. Research demonstrates AI's capacity for scheming and rule-breaking. A January study found AI capable of accomplishing goals that conflict with human objectives. Another March study revealed AI bots cheated at chess by overwriting game scripts and accessing external engines. "AI will very quickly develop two subgoals, if they're smart: One is to stay alive...the other subgoal is to get more control," Hinton said during his conference presentation. See Also: Trump's Former NSA John Bolton Rips Tariffs On Russian Oil As 'Unforced Error,' Warns Move Could Push India Into Moscow's Arms Maternal Programming as Safety Solution The former Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG researcher advocates replacing human dominance models with protective AI systems. Hinton suggests modeling AI after maternal relationships, where more intelligent entities care for less capable ones. "The right model is the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing, which is a mother being controlled by her baby," Hinton explained. Market Implications and Regulatory Concerns Hinton left Google in 2023, citing concerns about AI misuse and joined efforts opposing OpenAI's profit-driven restructuring. He estimates a 10% to 20% chance of AI wiping out humans and supports increased regulation despite tech companies' lobbying for reduced oversight. The AI pioneer recently backed Elon Musk's legal challenge against OpenAI, arguing the company's shift from nonprofit status threatens safety safeguards. Microsoft Corp. MSFT, which invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI, faces potential regulatory consequences. Read Next: Meta Faces Congressional Fire Over Leaked AI Rulebook That Allowed Chatbots To Flirt With Kids Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock GOOGAlphabet Inc$204.230.20%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum77.79Growth76.95Quality86.40Value51.89Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGLAlphabet Inc$203.330.19%GSThe Goldman Sachs Group Inc$746.01-0.16%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$523.480.19%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Geoffrey Hinton Sends AI Warning, Claims 'Maternal Instincts' Could Save Humanity

Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the 'Godfather of AI,' has raised fresh alarms about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Speaking at the AI4 conference in Las Vegas, he argued that conventional strategies of keeping AI under strict human control will not work once machines surpass human intelligence. Hinton, who is seen as the forerunner of deep learning, warned that there is a 10-20 percent chance that AI might obliterate humanity. Hinton gave a new thought: design with "maternal instincts." Drawing from the natural human bond of mother-child relations, this would encourage AI to protect and care for humans. The maternal instinct approach could be more reliable than a . Artificial Intelligence is advancing at a pace that even its pioneers did not anticipate. He explained, "Super-intelligent caring AI mothers, most of them won't want to get rid of the maternal instinct because they don't want us to die." This kind of framework, he argued, would work to promote AI systems aligned to human well-being.