--- title: "Former Google CEO Warns AI Could Endanger Humanity Within Five Years" description: "In his latest grim forecast, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that there aren't enough guardrails to stop AI from doing catastrophic harm." date: "2023-11-29" modified: "2023-11-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/eric-schmidt-ai-five-years" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "Google" - "policy" - "the digest" --- # Former Google CEO Warns AI Could Endanger Humanity Within Five Years ![In his latest grim forecast, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that there aren't enough guardrails to stop AI from doing catastrophic harm.]() *\Image: John Lamparski via Getty / Futurism\* ## Grim Projections In his [latest]() [grim]() artificial intelligence forecast, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that there aren't enough guardrails to stop the technology from doing catastrophic harm. Speaking to a [summit hosted by *Axios* this week](), Schmidt, who is now the chairman of the [National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence,]() likened [AI to the atomic bombs]() the United States dropped on Japan in 1945. "After Nagasaki and Hiroshima, it took 18 years to get to a treaty over test bans and things like that," he told *Axios* cofounder Mike Allen during the exchange at the website's A+ Summit in DC. "We don't have that kind of time today." Although those building the technology, from [OpenAI]() to [Google itself]() and far beyond, have established "guardrails" or safety measures to rein the tech in, Schmidt said he thinks the current safeties "aren't enough" — a take that he [shares with many machine learning researchers](). Within just five to 10 years, the former Google boss said, AI could become powerful enough to harm humanity. The worst case scenario, Schmidt continued, would be "the point at which the computer can start to make its own decisions to do things," and if they are able to access weapons systems or reach other terrifying capabilities, the machines may, he warns, lie to us humans about it. To head off that kind of horrific outcome, Schmidt said that a non-governmental organization akin to the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) should be established to "feed accurate information to policymakers" and help them make decisions about what to do when and if AI gets too powerful. ## Boss Fight While the former Google boss has regularly publicized his concerns about AI, Meta's AI czar Yann LeCun has increasingly taken the opposite stance. Last month, he [told the *Financial Times*]() that the tech is [nowhere near smart enough]() to threaten humanity on its own, and over Thanksgiving weekend, he [got into a spat]() with fellow AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton — who notoriously [quit Google earlier this year]() about his AI concerns — over the concept that large language models (LLMs) are sophisticated enough to "understand" what humans say to them. "The debate on existential risk is very premature until we have a design for a system that can even rival a cat in terms of learning capabilities," LeCun told *FT*, "which we don't have at the moment." While all these smart and accomplished men keep issuing opposite signals about the dangers of AI, it's hard to tell how scared to be. For now, it seems like the answer may, like with so many other things, lie somewhere in the middle — but as the goalposts keep moving, finding that measured position is as hard as ever. **More on AI reality checks:** [*Facebook Researchers Test AI's Intelligence and Find It Is Unfortunately Quite Stupid*]() ## 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]()