May 21, 2024 – Renowned pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), Geoffrey Hinton, has expressed profound concerns regarding the advancing AI landscape. Dubbed the “Godfather of AI” for his groundbreaking work in neural networks, Hinton recently warned that AI might displace a significant number of traditional jobs, prompting him to propose a Universal Basic Income (UBI) system in the United Kingdom as a potential solution.
In an interview with BBC, Hinton confessed, “I am deeply concerned that AI will replace many simple jobs.” To mitigate this challenge, he advocated for UBI, a system where the government provides a regular cash payment to all adult citizens, regardless of their income or employment status, with no strings attached.
As AI continues to evolve rapidly, UBI has emerged as a focal point among AI researchers, futurists, and industry leaders as a means to cushion the economic impact of AI. The concept is also gaining traction in countries like South Africa, Kenya, and India as a potential poverty alleviation strategy. In the United States, several cities and states are experimenting with guaranteed income programs, providing unconditional monthly cash transfers to specific populations.
Hinton believes that AI will enhance productivity and create new wealth, but without government intervention, these gains could exacerbate the gap between the rich and the poor, harming those who may lose their jobs. “This would be a highly disadvantageous outcome for society,” he noted.
Beyond UBI, Hinton cautioned about the need for a more cautious approach to AI development. He warned that AI could pose an “extinction-level threat” to humanity within the next 5 to 20 years.
Even proponents of accelerated AI development have acknowledged the need for wealth redistribution, with some suggesting a form of recurring cash payments. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, who is committed to developing general-purpose AI, is conducting an experiment on UBI and plans to share the results soon. Additionally, Altman has introduced the concept of “Universal Basic Compute” where individuals can access a portion of the computational power of powerful language models like GPT-7, similar to how they receive cash, with the freedom to use, resell, or donate it for causes such as cancer research.
