--- title: "Godfather of AI Warns of Powerful People Who Want Humans “Replaced by Machines”" description: "One of the world's leading AI scholars is scared of the technology's increasing power — and of the people who are in charge of it." date: "2024-11-24" modified: "2024-11-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-godfather-fringe" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "agi" - "ai industry" - "the digest" - "yoshua bengio" --- # Godfather of AI Warns of Powerful People Who Want Humans “Replaced by Machines” ![One of the world's leading AI scholars is scared of the technology's increasing power — and of the people who are in charge of it.]() *NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: (L-R) Yoshua Bengio and Eric Schmidt speak onstage during the 2024 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME ) \Image: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME\* ## Fringe Theory One of the world's leading AI pioneers is warning not only that the increasingly powerful technology could harm the world, but that the people in charge of it may be equally dangerous. In an [interview with *CNBC*,]() computer science luminary Yoshua Bengio said that members of an elite tech "fringe" want AI to replace humans. The head of the University of Montreal's Institute for Learning Algorithms, Bengio was among the public signatories of the "[Right to Warn]()" open letter penned by leading AI researchers at OpenAI who claim they're [being silenced about the technology's dangers](). Along with famed experts Yann LeCun and Geoffrey Hinton, he's sometimes referred to as one of the "[Godfathers of AI]()." "Intelligence gives power. So who’s going to control that power?" the preeminent machine learning expert told the outlet during the One Young World Summit in Montreal. "There are people who might want to abuse that power, and there are people who might be happy to see humanity replaced by machines," Bengio claimed. "I mean, it’s a fringe, but these people can have a lot of power, and they can do it unless we put the right guardrails right now." ## Money Talks Because AI systems cost billions of dollars to build, the deep learning expert noted, the financial power aspect can't be ignored. "Very few organizations and very few countries will be able to do it," the University of Montreal AI lab leader said. "That’s already the case." "There’s going to be a concentration of power: economic power, which can be bad for markets; political power, which could be bad for democracy; and military power, which could be bad for the geopolitical stability of our planet," he continued. Currently, experts disagree on whether artificial general intelligence, or human-level AI, can be reached and [when it might happen](). If it happens before global policy catches up, Bengio suggests, we're in trouble. "If it’s five years, we’re not ready," he concluded, "because we don’t have methods to make sure that these systems will not harm people or will not turn against people." While far from the first AI expert to offer [warnings about the dangers of AI](), Bengio has unusual gravitas; after all, he helped create it. **More on AGI warnings**: [*AI Bros Terrified Singularity Will Hit While Trump Is President*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()