Super-intelligent AI will take over within the next three years and kill humans if it is not stopped, the “Godfather of AI” will warn ministers.

Prof Geoffrey Hinton, the British-Canadian Nobel laureate known for his work in developing neural networks, will meet government leaders on Friday to outline the “terrifying” scenario.

It was first addressed during the AI Safety Foundation’s Hinton Lectures in Toronto, in which experts said AI could also overpower governments within the next six to 18 months.

Paul Christiano, of the Alignment Research Centre, which studies the rise of AI, warned the audience that “many people would die” as AI assumed control.

“I think there is a high risk of an AI takeover within the next three years, and meaningful risk even in the next six to 12 months,” he said.

“Even if there we don’t die, a takeover is sort of the end of human sovereignty and self-determination and is something we should be working incredibly hard to avoid.

“I think for most people in this room, the most likely reason they will die is because of an AI accident.”

Prof. Hinton, who unofficially advises the UK Government on AI, had frequently warned about the dangers but said he did not realise the timeframe was so alarming.

“I’ve been going around saying this stuff’s going to get smarter than us and we really need to worry and it might happen within 10 years, but I go to Paul’s lectures and he says this stuff might happen in the next 18 months and that’s terrifying,” he said. “So I’m going tell a bunch of government leaders that on Friday.

“What’s going on is extremely dangerous. People haven’t really absorbed what it means to deal with a super-intelligent AI. If it’s super-intelligent it’s not going to be you controlling it – it’s going to be it controlling you.”

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/godfather-ai-warn-ministers-could-175501587.html