Geoffrey Hinton regrets AI work, warns systems could cripple power grids within two years

Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has expressed regret over helping develop the technology, warning that AI systems could gain the ability to hack and paralyse major financial systems or power grids worldwide within one to two years.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Hinton voiced deep concern about the rapid spread of AI. “Perhaps the world would be better off without this new technology,” he said.

Hinton said he believed these systems would soon become more intelligent than humans and that controlling them would become impossible. His warning about financial networks and electricity infrastructure described a capability he expects the technology to acquire within that one-to-two-year period.

It could not be independently confirmed when Hinton gave the interview.

It reported that Discover Pakistan had launched Pakistan Today English News, described as the world’s first fully AI-powered English news channel, with AI-generated anchors, reporters, analysts and programme hosts.

According to that report, the channel promised round-the-clock, accurate and unbiased coverage, primarily in English, and planned live AI translation into more than 40 languages. Discover Pakistan’s earlier AI work included a June 19, 2023, broadcast described as the world’s first AI-powered television talk show, during which chief executive Dr. Kaiser Rafiq introduced his AI avatar alongside three others. The new channel’s AI anchors were said to feature more than 1,500 facial movements, body gestures and lifelike expressions, using deep learning and advanced natural language processing.