AI RISING: RISK VS REWARD

THE HINTON LECTURES™

The inaugural 2024 series took place on October 28 and 29th, 2024, at the John W.H. Bassett Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The series was supported by the Global Risk Institute, hosted by Professor Geoffrey Hinton and were delivered by Dr. Jacob Steinhardt, assistant professor at University of California, Berkeley. Jacob's research focuses on understanding and steering AI systems to align with humans and the public good.

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Lecture one

Emerging Challenges in AI: Breakthroughs and Risks for the Next Decade
Chatbots and generative AI systems have rapidly advanced, fueled by significant investments in data and computational resources. These systems now show unpredictable capabilities. However, this volatility brings new risks, particularly due to "emergent capabilities". Additionally, AI systems are prone to producing convincing but incorrect outputs, a growing concern that could have serious future implications. The talk will explore these advancements and the associated risk.

Lecture TWO

AI in Society: Markets, Misuse, Managers, and Memes
AI is increasingly becoming a part of our social fabric, from chatbots to social media, and even AI therapists and companions. While we can't predict all the impacts, we can identify certain challenges and opportunities based on AI's unique characteristics and the historical effects of other technologies. This talk explores AI's effects through four lenses: markets, misuse, managers, and memes. The discussion will focus on the policy decisions society must confront, aiming to frame the key questions for the future.
Speaker: Jacob Steinhardt
Jacob Steinhardt is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and Statistics at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on understanding and steering AI systems to align with humans and the public good. He’s developed AI benchmarks downloaded over 100 million times and featured in major AI system releases. He has also studied AI robustness and potential misuse. Recently, he has designed AI systems to explain complex data and provide well-calibrated forecasts. Jacob has worked at OpenAI and Open Philanthropy and earned his PhD at Stanford under Percy Liang. He is a Hertz Fellow and AI2050 Early Career Fellow. Jacob is the inaugural recipient of an award to further the impact and safety of AI, sponsored by the Global Risk Institute.


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HOST: GEOFFREY HINTON
Considered the “Godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton is a distinguished British-Canadian computer scientist and cognitive psychologist, celebrated for his ground-breaking work in artificial neural networks. As a leading figure in tackling AI's most profound and disruptive dilemmas, Hinton has played pivotal roles at Google and the University of Toronto. With over 800,000 citations and collaborations with the most influential minds in AI, his career continues to be a relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence in the field.