‘Godfather of AI’ calls out tech giants for downplaying risks
Speaking on the One Decision podcast, which aired on July 24, Geoffery Hinton claimed that while many employees within large tech firms are aware of AI’s potential risks, there is little being done to mitigate them.
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Geoffrey Hinton, widely recognized as the “Godfather of AI” for his pioneering work in neural networks, has issued a fresh warning about the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence—and taken aim at the tech elite for failing to act responsibly.
Speaking on the One Decision podcast, which aired on July 24, Hinton claimed that while many employees within large tech firms are aware of AI’s potential risks, there is little being done to mitigate them.
“Many of the people in big companies, I think, are downplaying the risk publicly,” he said, suggesting that profit and power may be taking precedence over long-term safety concerns.
However, there is one notable exception, according to Hinton: Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind.
“Demis Hassabis, for example, really does understand about the risks, and really wants to do something about it,” he said.
A Rare Voice of Reason? Hassabis co-founded DeepMind in the UK in 2010, later selling it to Google for $650 million in 2014 under an agreement that promised the formation of an AI ethics board. Since then, DeepMind has become a powerhouse in AI research, producing game-changing technologies like AlphaGo—the first program to defeat a world champion at Go—and AlphaFold, which revolutionized the understanding of protein folding.
In 2023, DeepMind merged with Google Brain to form a single advanced research unit under the name Google DeepMind. Its work spans reinforcement learning, generative AI, and large language models, powering tools such as Gemini and Imagen.
While Hassabis has long advocated for AI to be led by academics and scientists, he now finds himself at the helm of one of the world’s most influential AI labs. In February this year, he publicly warned about the potential threats of powerful AI systems and called for the creation of an international regulatory body to oversee development and safety.
Despite these efforts, DeepMind has not been immune to public scrutiny. Recent protests outside its London headquarters demanded greater transparency around the lab’s work.
Hinton vs. the AI Oligarchs Hinton, who spent over a decade at Google, resigned last year in order to speak freely about his growing concerns. In previous interviews, he mentioned that Google had encouraged him to stay and continue focusing on AI safety from within—but he ultimately felt he could have a bigger impact on the outside.
His criticism on the One Decision podcast extended to some of the industry’s most powerful figures.
“The people who control AI, people like Musk and Zuckerberg, they are oligarchs,” Hinton said, when asked about the current AI leadership landscape.
And when asked whether he trusted them, his reply was telling: “I think when I called them oligarchs, you know the answer to that.”
A Call for Ethics Before Expansion Hinton’s comments come amid growing global anxiety around AI development, with debates heating up over regulation, transparency, and the monopolization of powerful technologies. His voice—arguably one of the most respected in AI—adds urgency to the conversation.
As tech giants race to dominate the AI landscape, Hinton’s message is clear: innovation must not come at the cost of safety, ethics, or global cooperation.
