The world-renowned pioneer in AI, Geoffrey Hinton, has sounded a dire warning over the economic and social fallout of artificial intelligence. He recently told an interviewer that the more powerful and pervasive AI systems become, the more tech billionaires like Elon Musk will profit from them tremendously, while "millions" of workers face unemployment.
What Hinton said
Hinton emphasized that AI in itself isn't the problem; the larger problem is the way society is organized. "The reason it's bad is because of the way society's organised," he said. "So that Musk will get richer and a lot of people get unemployed and Musk won't care. I'm using Musk as a sort of stand-in."
He added that the big tech firms are investing massively in AI because they expect to replace human labour, thereby raising profitability. “I believe to make money you're going to have to replace human labour,” Hinton said.
Why this matters
Hinton's comments come amidst a raft of layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech sector, with many firms citing AI, automation and productivity gains as key drivers.
His warning is a signal that, if new economic models or policies are not embraced, the disruption could extend beyond routine tasks to large swathes of the workforce.
What the implications are
One implication is that inequality will widen: as a few firms and individuals capture the value created by AI, many workers may find fewer opportunities. Hinton warns that unless society reorganizes how labour, profits, and value are distributed, the benefits of AI could go to the few rather than the many. He suggested reconsidering labour protections, social safety nets, and how we define meaningful work.
Another implication of that is job displacement, which might be faster and deeper than a lot of people expect. He indicated that some other jobs which people previously felt safe, like call centre roles or entry-level white-collar tasks, were at risk of automation or being replaced by the AI system.
Conclusion
Hinton's warning is not just technical, but fundamentally social. He suggested that if AI is used chiefly to maximize profits by replacing humans, the result might be huge job loss and more inequality. But it could still have a good outcome if deployed with different values-to augment humanity and share benefits more widely. As he put it: the issue isn't AI itself, but how our society is structured around it.
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