Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) pioneer nicknamed the "Godfather of AI", recently left his position at Google after working on machine learning algorithms for more than a decade in order to speak more openly about the potential dangers of the technology. In an interview with The New York Times, he voiced concerns about AI flooding the internet with fake photos, videos, and text, such as it being used to fabricate interviews. Hinton also predicted that AI could take over jobs, develop unexpected behaviors from massive amounts of data, and further be developed for use in lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS).

His comments echoed those of regulators, lawmakers, and tech industry executives, who have also expressed concern with the advancements of AI and the risks it poses to humanity. To back these concerns, over 2,600 tech executives and researchers signed a opeden letter in March that urged for a temporary halt of AI development citing “profound risks to society and humanity". This was followed by a letter signed by 12 European Union lawmakers in April and a recent EU draft bill classifying AI tools by their risk level. The United Kingdom has even extended $125 million to support a task force for the development of “safe AI”.

Although these regulations can go some way to reduce the potential risks of AI misuse, it has already been taken advantage of. Binance claimed that it was the victim of a ChatGPT-originated smear campaign, linking to a fake Forbes article and a non-existent LinkedIn page. Similarly, pranksters have been able to trick multiple media outlets into publishing fake news about an AI-generated "Canadian actor" and The Aktuelle publishing a false interview with Michael Schumacher. Hinton himself seemed to express regret over this misuse and possibly his own life's work.

These are worrying cases of AI-created misinformation and highlight that there are still dangers lurking in this powerful technology. Although regulations can help reduce the risk of AI misuse, they should be combined with thorough education, monitoring and research.



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