Geoffrey Hinton has been awarded alongside John Hopfield, a fellow computer scientist recognized for his invention of a pattern-matching neural network capable of storing and reconstructing data. Hinton expanded on this concept, known as a Hopfield network, to create backpropagation, an algorithm fundamental for enabling neural networks to learn.
Both researchers utilized methods rooted in physics, particularly statistical techniques, in their work. The Nobel Prize committee acknowledged them for their “foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
However, since May 2023, following reports by MIT Technology Review about Hinton expressing concerns over the technology he helped develop, the 76-year-old scientist has gained notoriety as a prominent advocate for doomerism. This viewpoint suggests there is a significant risk that emerging AI technologies could lead to catastrophic events, including potential human extinction.
While the idea of doomerism was not new, Hinton, who received the prestigious Turing Award in 2018, has lent credibility to what many of his contemporaries previously dismissed as far-fetched.
What prompted Hinton to voice his concerns? In a meeting at his London residence last year, he shared his amazement at the capabilities of new large language models, particularly OpenAI’s GPT-4, which had been released shortly before our conversation. He believed that such advanced technology, derived from deep learning, would soon surpass human intelligence, raising questions about its potential motivations.
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us,” he remarked. “I think they’re very close to it now and they will be much more intelligent than us in the future. How do we survive that?”
His comments ignited a flurry of media attention and turned the existential risks associated with AI—ranging from economic upheaval to the threat of autonomous weapons—into widely recognized issues. Numerous leading scientists and technology figures signed open letters expressing concerns about the adverse effects of artificial intelligence, with discussions around a moratorium on AI development gaining traction. Politicians pledged to take measures to mitigate potential dangers.
Despite the heightened awareness, many view Hinton’s warnings as exaggerated. Yann LeCun, the chief AI scientist at Meta and a co-recipient of the 2018 Turing Award with Hinton, has described doomerism as “preposterously ridiculous.”
Today’s award honors the groundbreaking work in a technology that has intertwined itself with daily life, while also likely intensifying scrutiny on Hinton’s more alarmist perspectives.