Particle.news
Download on the App Store
17 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Godfather of AI Warns of White-Collar Job Collapse and Human Extinction Risk

Quantifying a 10–20% chance of human extinction by superintelligent AI, Hinton argues that automation of cognitive tasks leaves manual trades like plumbing among the few safe careers.

Image
Ex-Google AI boss Geoffery Hinton has a stark prediction for workers: Most of you are about to get replaced. Anthropic and Klarna’s CEOs have issued similar warnings
Geoffrey Hinton's discoveries and inventions in machine learning paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom.
Image

Overview

  • Hinton predicts that routine intellectual tasks could be entirely replaced by AI and says paralegals and call center workers should be "terrified."
  • He disputes that AI will create sufficient new roles, warning that AI-assisted productivity may leave one person doing the work of ten.
  • While manual trades requiring physical manipulation—plumbing chief among them—are unlikely to be automated soon, most white-collar professions face rapid displacement.
  • Beyond job losses, he highlights short-term dangers from AI-driven cyberattacks, misinformation and autonomous weapons, and long-term threats from superintelligent systems designing biological risks.
  • Urging swift AI safety research and policy measures, he also advises individuals to diversify assets and back up data to guard against emerging AI-enabled threats.