Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang slams 'AI godfather' over warning that AI could wipe out humanity

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has slammed the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Geoffrey Hinton for warning that artificial intelligence could destroy humanity. The tech leader accused the scientist of spreading fear without scientific evidence.

Hinton, also known as the godfather of AI, has repeatedly warned that increasingly powerful systems could eventually escape human control. But Huang, whose company supplies the chips used to train some of the world's most advanced AI models, strongly disagrees.

Speaking on The Ezra Klein Show, Huang challenged Hinton's suggestion that AI could pose a 10% or greater risk of catastrophic consequences.

"Just because it comes from a scientist doesn't make it scientific," Huang said, arguing that such predictions were not supported by research.

He also described the warnings as harmful and questioned whether frightening the public served any useful purpose.

Huang has previously insisted there is virtually no chance that AI will bring about humanity's extinction by 2030. However, Hinton has refused to back down.

In an interview with CNN, the computer scientist argued that Huang's confidence was misplaced because nobody could accurately calculate the risks posed by technology that has never existed before.

He also suggested that Nvidia had a commercial interest in encouraging rapid AI development. But what does the disputed 10% figure actually mean? It is Hinton's assessment of an uncertain future risk, not a probability established through scientific testing. Hinton argues that even a relatively small possibility of human extinction deserves serious attention, particularly when the consequences would be irreversible.

The disagreement comes as AI companies face growing scrutiny over autonomous systems capable of performing tasks with limited human supervision.