The ‘Godfather of AI’ Says Artificial Intelligence Needs Programming With ‘Maternal Instincts’ or Humans Could Be Controlled

The “Godfather of AI” fears that superintelligent AI will challenge human dominance — but he has a suggestion that could reframe AI assistants as AI mothers.

In a keynote speech at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Geoffrey Hinton, 78, predicted a future where AI could assert control over humans as easily as an adult interacting with a 3-year-old child, getting them to complete a task with the promise of candy. AI is going to be “much smarter than us,” Hinton said.

Related: AI Is Going to ‘Replace Everybody’ in Several Fields, According to the ‘Godfather of AI.’ Here’s Who He Says Should Be ‘Terrified.’

Hinton is known as