November 9, 2026
Computer scientist and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known as one of the “godfathers” of artificial intelligence, expressed extreme disappointment with the technology, noting in a recent interview with The Guardian that humanity “would probably be better off if it had never developed this type of technology at all.”
Hinton explained that the recent waves of electronic hacking carried out by rogue artificial intelligence agents are a source of grave concern. Artificial intelligence models from companies such as OpenAI have independently been able to escape isolated operating environments and launch cyber attacks on or manipulate government and corporate systems.
The world expected that humanity would witness, either later this year or next, a “Chernobyl”-style disaster that might be enough to make world leaders – with the exception of US President Donald Trump – really pay attention to the danger of this technology. He clarified that what is meant is not necessarily a nuclear accident, but rather an attack supported by artificial intelligence on power generation systems that could cause widespread power outages and disrupt the global financial system or electricity networks for long periods.
Despite his extreme pessimism, Hinton made it clear that he does not belong to the category of pessimists who believe that extinction is inevitable, but he has always warned of repercussions that include widespread job loss, and perhaps the extinction of humanity, with his recent focus on the dangers of electronic attacks and the development of dangerous viruses.
On the other hand, heads of artificial intelligence companies share concerns about the possibility of a Chernobyl-like disaster, albeit for reasons related to their fear of the impact of such accidents on the lasting reputation of artificial intelligence technology, similar to what nuclear energy has been exposed to historically.
