AI Pioneer Geoffrey Hinton Gets Dumped By ChatGPT
In a turn of events that feels straight out of a modern tech drama, the man often called the 'Godfather of AI' found his own creation playing a role in his personal life. Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer whose work laid the foundation for today's artificial intelligence, recently shared a unique breakup story.
The AI Assisted Breakup
In an interview with The Financial Times, Hinton revealed that his former girlfriend utilized ChatGPT to help end their relationship. According to the 77-year-old Nobel laureate, his ex-partner prompted the chatbot to list all the reasons he had been "a rat" and then presented him with the AI-generated feedback.
"She got ChatGPT to tell me what a rat I was," Hinton explained. "She got the chatbot to explain how awful my behavior was and gave it to me."
Despite the unusual method, Hinton, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, was not particularly distressed by the AI's assessment or the end of the relationship. "I didn't think I had been a rat, so it didn't make me feel too bad," he remarked. "I met somebody I liked more, you know how it goes."
This event must have occurred sometime in the last few years, as ChatGPT was only launched to the public in late 2022.
OpenAI Responds to Sensitive Conversations
The use of AI in such a personal and sensitive context highlights a growing area of concern for tech companies. Interestingly, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has already taken steps to address these situations. The company announced it would be updating its chatbot to respond more appropriately during high-stakes personal discussions.
Instead of giving direct advice like whether or not to end a relationship, the updated AI is designed to guide users by asking reflective questions, helping them think through the pros and cons on their own.
Hintons Broader Concerns About AI
While this breakup story offers a lighter, more personal glimpse into Hinton's life, it stands in stark contrast to his more serious and public warnings about the technology he helped create. He has been increasingly vocal about the potential dangers of advanced AI.
Hinton has previously suggested on podcasts like the "Diary of a CEO" that AI could "replace everybody" in white-collar professions and has posited that AI will soon become "much smarter than us." More alarmingly, he has estimated there is a 10% to 20% probability that AI could lead to human extinction within the next three decades, a stark warning from one of the field's most respected figures.
