‘Godfather of AI’ predicts mass unemployment is on its way

While these predictions may seem extreme, they are not only reasonable, they are likely, said Geoffrey Hinton – the British computer scientist widely known as the “Godfather of AI.” He warned that this shift could lead to a comprehensive economic adjustment that leaves millions of workers behind.

“It seems very likely to a large number of people that we are going to have massive unemployment because of AI,” Hinton said in a recent discussion with Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Va.) at Georgetown University.

“And if you ask where these people are going to get the nearly trillion dollars that they’re investing in data centers and chips… one of the main sources of money is going to be through selling AI to people that will do the work of workers at a much cheaper price. And so these people are really betting on AI replacing a lot of workers.”

Hinton has become increasingly vocal about what he sees as Big Tech’s misplaced priorities. Industry, he said recently luckdriven not so much by scientific progress as by short-term profits, fueling the push to replace human workers with cheaper artificial intelligence systems.

His warnings come as the economics of artificial intelligence faces new scrutiny. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is not expected to turn a profit until at least 2030, and may need more than $207 billion to support its growth, according to HSBC estimates.

The future of artificial intelligence is behind the fog of war

Hinton’s journey from knowledgeable AI scholar to outspoken critic highlights the high stakes of the technology he helped create. After leaving his job at Google in 2023 to speak more freely about the dangers of artificial intelligence, he became one of the most prominent skeptics. Last year, his pioneering work in machine learning won him a Nobel Prize.

He also acknowledged that artificial intelligence will create new job opportunities, as many technology leaders expect. But he added that he does not expect the number of new roles to come close to the number that were cancelled. However, he cautioned that all predictions – including his own – should be treated with a great deal of skepticism.

“Trying to predict the future is going to be very difficult,” he told Sanders. “It’s a bit like when you’re driving in fog. You can see clearly for 100 yards, and 200 yards away you can’t see anything. Well, we can see clearly for a year or two, but after 10 years, we have no idea what’s going to happen.”

However, what is clear is that AI is not going away, and experts say that workers who adapt — and use technology to amplify their skills — will have the best chance of weathering the coming disruptions.

Bernie Sanders warns that 100 million jobs are at risk

Sanders tried to quantify the risks. In an October report – based in part on estimates from ChatGPT – he warned that nearly 100 million US jobs could be replaced by automation. Workers in fast food, customer service and manual labor face some of the highest risks, but white-collar roles in accounting, software development and nursing could also see significant cuts.

“It’s not just about the economy,” Sanders wrote in a Fox News op-ed. “Work, whether as a janitor or a brain surgeon, is an integral part of being human. The vast majority of people want to be productive members of society and contribute to their communities. What happens when this vital aspect of human existence is removed from our lives?”

senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) has raised similar alarms, warning that the disorder may hit young people first and hardest – potentially sending unemployment rates among recent college graduates to 25% in the next two or three years.

“Let’s look at the fact that we haven’t done anything on social media,” Warner told CNBC. “If we made the same response to AI and didn’t put up guardrails, I think we would regret it that day.”