ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and other large language models are revolutionizing the way we interact with information, automate tasks, and understand natural language. Furthermore, there is a lot of discussion around the dangers behind AI. I just came across a video in my feed featuring an interview with neural networks pioneer Geoff Hinton, who has received both a Turing Award and the Nobel Prize Award. You can also watch it here.

Hinton is even comparing AI with an adult human and a human with a 3 year old that can be taken as a fool by the adult. However, in my opinion, at the moment the way these systems work are based on vasts, extraordinary amounts of data that are getting trained on and they hardly have the real intelligence of a 1 and half, 2 year old child that is able to master the basics of a language from a small amount of data. In that sense I am aligned with Noam Chomsky who has co-authored an amazing book “Why Only Us” with Prof. Berwick, available from MIT Press.

I had the luck to attend a talk of Noam Chomsky few years back in Boston discussing that book and talk briefly with him and this is how I got to read it. Highly recommended. During the talk, Chomsky argued that modern machine learning technologies do not truly understand language or context in the way humans do, highlighting a fundamental difference between human cognitive abilities and artificial intelligence, the way at least it is implemented right now.

Here is Hinton’s reply to Chomsky:

In conclusion, I believe that while it is important to seriously discuss the existential risks of AI, the immediate impact of recent advancements in the field will likely be a substantial boost to economic growth. However, it is essential that politicians enact policies to ensure that these benefits are distributed throughout society, not just to a select few. Given that this topic isn’t as frequently discussed as existential dangers (hopefully, this is a wrong impression of mine), I feel compelled to speak up about it. As AI replaces jobs with lower-cost alternatives, measures must be taken to protect and transition the workforce.