By derimot*no - Terje Sørensen/Geoffrey Hinton-August 1, 2025

Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in artificial intelligence and Nobel Prize winner in physics (2024), has called on governments around the world to work together to train AI systems so that they do not harm humanity, and he warns that the rapidly developing technology is likely to soon surpass human intelligence.

Geoffrey Hinton has said that nations must work together to train non-hostile artificial intelligence. Hinton said at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, July 26, that despite differing national interests, no country wants AI to dominate humanity.

Geoffrey Hinton from RT, « 'Godfather of AI' warns governments to collaborate before it's too late «

He said international cooperation is unlikely when it comes to offensive uses of AI—such as “cyberattacks, lethal autonomous weapons, or fake videos to manipulate public opinion.” However, nations could form a “network of institutions” to guide the development of a highly intelligent AI “that won’t get rid of people,” Hinton added. He compared this proposed cooperation to Soviet-American cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation during the Cold War.

Hinton, often referred to as the "godfather of artificial intelligence", compared the development of artificial intelligence to "raising a tiger cub" that could become dangerous when it matures.

"There are only two options if you have a tiger cub as a pet. Find out if you can train it so that it will never kill you, or get rid of it," the scientist said.

He explained that AI will likely seek more control to perform its assigned tasks as it becomes more intelligent, and that simply "turning it off" when it surpasses humanity will not be an option.

"We'll be like three-year-olds, and they'll be like adults," Hinton said.

In a statement to the press later in the day, he said it should be relatively easy for "rational" nations to cooperate on this subject, but said it could be "difficult" for the United States under "its current administration."

On Wednesday, July 23, the White House announced its “action plan” to achieve “global dominance” in AI through investments, subsidies, and the removal of legal restrictions on the technology’s development.

Beijing has announced its intention to establish an organization to coordinate international cooperation on artificial intelligence. “We should strengthen coordination to form a global framework for the governance of artificial intelligence,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) on Saturday, July 26.

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