Deep learning visionary leaves tech giant after a decade, voicing new concerns over AI’s potential risks
- Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer of deep learning and AI, resigns from Google after 10 years.
- Hinton expresses new fears about the technology he helped develop and wants to speak openly about them.
- Hinton’s resignation comes as a surprise to many, including fellow AI scientist Yann Lecun.
- Despite his departure, Google remains committed to a responsible approach to AI and continues to innovate.
- Hinton is best known for developing the backpropagation algorithm, which underpins nearly all machine-learning models today.
Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in the field of deep learning and AI, has resigned from his position at Google after a decade. As reported by the New York Times, Hinton has recently developed new concerns about the technology he has significantly contributed to and now wishes to discuss them openly. His departure comes as a surprise to many in the industry, including Yann Lecun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta, who commends Hinton’s tremendous contributions to AI.
The 75-year-old computer scientist has been splitting his time between the University of Toronto and Google since 2013 when the tech giant acquired his AI startup, DNNresearch. Hinton’s company was working on cutting-edge machine learning for image recognition, which Google later utilized to enhance its photo search capabilities and more.
Hinton has been vocal about ethical concerns surrounding AI, particularly when it comes to military applications. He has stated that one of the reasons he spent much of his career in Canada was to secure research funding without ties to the US Department of Defense. Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean expresses appreciation for Hinton’s contributions and wishes him well.
Hinton’s most notable achievement is the development of the backpropagation algorithm in the 1980s. This algorithm, which allows artificial neural networks to learn, is the foundation for nearly all modern machine-learning models. Hinton believed that backpropagation mimicked the learning process in biological brains, and he has been searching for better approximations ever since.
As Hinton leaves Google, his departure highlights the growing concerns about the potential risks of AI advancements. However, the tech giant remains committed to a responsible approach to AI, continuing to learn about emerging risks while innovating boldly.