Geoffrey Hinton on how humanity can survive AI

Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” is warning the technology he helped build may wipe out humanity, but could there be a path forward for coexisting with superintelligent AI? Hinton joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about the possibility of AI surpassing human intelligence and eventually taking over. Smarter things, he points out, generally tend to be in charge of dumber things. Instead of humans trying to dominate AI, he suggests a radically different model for coexistence: building AI with something like “maternal instincts” that compel it to truly care about human well-being.

If we can design AI that genuinely supports and protects humanity, coexistence might be possible. It could also be one of the few areas where governments and countries around the world are aligned on AI development, because stopping AI from taking over is in everyone’s best interests. If computer scientists in the US or China could figure out how to give AI maternal instincts, like a mother has for a baby, it might lead to genuine international cooperation on one of society’s most urgent problems.