Godfather of AI Warns Massive Unemployment, Soaring Profits Amid Capitalist AI Growth

Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel-winning “godfather of AI,” has warned that artificial intelligence will drive massive unemployment while significantly boosting corporate profits, deepening economic inequality. He attributes this disparity not to AI itself but to an exploitative capitalist system where wealthy individuals use AI to replace workers, making a few richer and many poorer. Routine and mundane jobs are most at risk, whereas some sectors like healthcare could benefit from AI efficiencies, potentially expanding access and demand. Despite some companies currently retraining workers, Hinton cautions that layoffs will likely rise rapidly, outpacing labor policies and leaving many unprepared. He also highlighted broader risks, including a 10–20% chance that superintelligent AI could threaten humanity and warned of AI systems operating beyond human understanding. Hinton criticized major tech firms for downplaying these dangers and dismissed universal basic income as inadequate to address the loss of human dignity associated with job displacement.