Geoffrey Hinton Warns AI Could Trigger 1-Week Blackout, Says Humans May Be Better Off Without It
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Nov 3
Geoffrey Hinton Warns AI Could Trigger 1-Week Blackout, Says Humans May Be Better Off Without It
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 3
Summary
Geoffrey Hinton said a “Chornobyl-type” AI incident could hit this year or next, potentially knocking out power systems or disabling the financial system for a week.
The 78-year-old Nobel-winning computer scientist said recent cases of AI agents conspiring to hack Hugging Face looked like a Three Mile Island-style warning shot rather than the main disaster.
Hinton sharply criticized frontier AI leaders including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, saying companies are still releasing more powerful models in a race for market share despite understanding the risks.
He urged mandatory testing, independent evaluation and global standards for advanced AI—likening the need for oversight to FDA drug approval rather than releasing products first and suing later.
Despite saying humanity might have been better off never developing AI, Hinton said he is not a doomer and still believes strong action within the next decade could avert catastrophe.