The Download: Geoffrey Hinton's AI fears, and decoding our thoughts

Geoffrey Hinton is a pioneer of deep learning who helped develop some of the most important techniques at the heart of modern artificial intelligence. But after a decade at Google, he is stepping down to focus on new concerns he now has about AI. Stunned by the capabilities of new large language models like GPT-4, Hinton wants to raise public awareness of the serious risks that he now believes may accompany the technology he ushered in. Will Douglas Heaven, our senior AI editor, sat down with Hinton at his north London home just four days before the bombshell announcement of his departure. Hinton explained his belief that machines are on track to be a lot smarter than he thought they'd be--and why he's scared about how that might play out.