Another Godfather of AI Feeling Lost

Not so long ago, Geoffrey Hinton, another “godfather of AI”, raised his concerns about the future of AI and his own feelings towards it .

Now it seems, another “godfather of AI”, is feeling lost with his work

He is the second of the so-called three “godfathers” of AI, known for their pioneering work in the field, to voice concerns about the direction and the speed at which it is developing. […]

Prof Bengio told the BBC he was concerned about “bad actors” getting hold of AI, especially as it became more sophisticated and powerful.

“It might be military, it might be terrorists, it might be somebody very angry, psychotic. And so if it’s easy to program these AI systems to ask them to do something very bad, this could be very dangerous.

“If they’re smarter than us, then it’s hard for us to stop these systems or to prevent damage,” he added. Prof Bengio admitted those concerns were taking a personal toll on him, as his life’s work, which had given him direction and a sense of identity, was no longer clear to him. “It is challenging, emotionally speaking, for people who are inside [the AI sector],” he said. “You could say I feel lost. But you have to keep going and you have to engage, discuss, encourage others to think with you.”