Geoffrey Hinton, AI's godfather, has a 'nuclear bomb' warning; says “a normal person can make..."

artificial intelligence

Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “godfather of AI,” has issued a stark warning about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence. Once a strong advocate for rapid AI progress, Hinton has now shifted to cautioning the public about the technology’s destructive potential. He fears that AI could empower individuals to create catastrophic weapons, raising the risk of global instability.

Nuclear-level threats

In a recent discussion, Hinton highlighted the possibility that AI could give unprecedented power to ordinary people. “A normal person assisted by AI will soon be able to build bioweapons and that is terrible,” he said. Extending the analogy, he added, “Imagine if an average person in the street could make a nuclear bomb.”

Hinton compared the risks of AI to the destructive force of nuclear weapons, warning that the technology could make weapon creation far more accessible. His remarks come at a time when AI tools like ChatGPT have become mainstream, prompting debates over regulation, misuse, and long-term risks.

Concerns about human manipulation

Beyond physical weapons, Hinton also expressed fears about AI’s ability to manipulate human emotions and behaviours. With access to vast amounts of data, AI systems can learn how to influence people more effectively than humans themselves, he argued. He cautioned that this power, if misused, could reshape societies in troubling ways.

Debate on AI’s intelligence

Hinton has also doubled down on his belief that AI should be considered intelligent. “It seems very obvious to me. If you talk to these things and ask them questions, it understands,” he said, adding that there is little doubt within the technical community that AI systems will continue to get smarter.

However, not all leading researchers share his view. Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist and Hinton’s fellow Turing Award winner, disagrees, saying large language models remain limited and cannot meaningfully interact with the physical world.