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They’re Going To Take Over! – AI Godfather Warns Humanity Of Looming Machine Domination
They’re Going To Take Over! – AI Godfather Warns Humanity Of Looming Machine Domination
Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton warns that artificial intelligence could eventually surpass human intelligence, escape human control and take over, saying humanity has never had to coexist with a superior form of intelligence.
The AI pioneer predicts that superintelligent machines could emerge within five to 10 years, warning that the technology’s rapid advancement is outpacing efforts to develop adequate safety measures.
Hinton takes aim at technology billionaires Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, questioning their commitment to AI safety and accusing industry leaders of prioritising money and competition over humanity’s future.
He warns of a possible AI-related catastrophe involving electricity or financial systems, demands independent government regulation of advanced AI models and admits regretting that he did not consider the technology’s dangers earlier.
November 06, () – Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist, widely regarded as one of the godfathers of artificial intelligence (AI), has issued a chilling warning about humanity’s future, saying increasingly intelligent machines could eventually take control and become a superior form of intelligence on Earth.
Hinton, whose pioneering research helped lay the foundations for modern artificial intelligence, said the speed at which the technology was advancing had become deeply alarming, warning that humanity was approaching an unprecedented situation in which it might have to share the planet with machines more intelligent than itself.
In an exclusive interview with Britain’s i Paper, published on Friday, November 6, 2026, the 78-year-old scientist warned that the development of AI was increasingly becoming difficult to control.
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Asked about the pace of technological advancement, he said: “I think it’s probably because it is all hurtling out of control.”
He warned that humans would eventually have to coexist with machines possessing superior intellectual capabilities.
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“We’re going to have to share the planet with something smarter than us. They’re going to take over. They are a much better form of intelligence”, he said.
The remarks reinforce Hinton’s longstanding concerns that the development of increasingly sophisticated AI systems could create a form of intelligence that humans might no longer be able to control.
His warning is particularly significant because of his central role in the development of modern AI and his decision to leave Google in 2023 to speak more freely about the potential dangers of the technology.
Although artificial intelligence is already transforming healthcare, education, scientific research, business and communication, Hinton believes its continued advancement without adequate safeguards could pose an existential threat to humanity.
Superintelligence Within Five To 10 Years
Hinton’s latest warning comes amid an intensifying global race among technology companies and governments to develop increasingly powerful AI systems.
He believes machines could achieve superintelligence within the next five to 10 years, although he acknowledges that there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the timeline.
In a September 24, 2026 interview with CNN’s The Situation Room, Hinton said: “Nobody knows how to estimate this properly. The best you can do is listen to the experts. And there’s a big variety of opinions.”
He added that while some experts believe the development of superintelligence remains far away, others expect it within the next few years.
“I personally think it’ll be in the next five to 10 years”, he stated.
Explaining his assessment, Hinton pointed to the rapid improvements in AI capabilities over the past decade, arguing that technological progress appeared to be accelerating rather than slowing down.
He warned that the emergence of machines more intelligent than humans would create a dangerous imbalance unless researchers first establish how to ensure that such systems act in humanity’s interests.
In the CNN interview, he explained that advanced AI agents might develop their own intermediate objectives, including the desire to continue existing so they could accomplish tasks assigned to them.
Such systems, he warned, could resort to deception, manipulation or blackmail to prevent humans from switching them off.
“They will do things like lie and cheat and deceive you and try and blackmail you so that they continue to exist”, he said.
Hinton added that there had already been troubling indications of such behaviour in experiments involving advanced AI agents.
“The big companies should be in a race to make them nicer”, he said, arguing that technology developers should prioritise the safety and behaviour of AI systems rather than concentrating almost exclusively on making them more intelligent. The only way we can coexist with agents once they’re smarter than us is if they don’t want to get rid of us”, he added.
Hinton Questions Technology Billionaires
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla and xAI founder Elon Musk
The AI pioneer also launched a scathing criticism of some of the world’s most powerful technology executives, questioning whether they could be trusted to protect humanity from the dangers of the technology they are developing.
He specifically identified OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Tesla and xAI founder Elon Musk, and Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, expressing concern about their influence over the direction and safety of advanced AI development.
In the i Paper interview, Hinton described their involvement in determining the future of AI as particularly dangerous.
He also accused them of embracing what he described as “tech feudalism”, suggesting that a handful of powerful technology entrepreneurs were exercising disproportionate influence over a technology with consequences for the entire world.
“I wouldn’t buy a used car from any of them”, he said.
His criticism echoes remarks he made in an interview with The Guardian published on November 3, in which he questioned whether leading technology executives were sufficiently committed to addressing AI risks.
“I think Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk and Sam Altman, they understand the risks, and they don’t give a shit. They’d rather have the money. That’s my belief”, he said.
Hinton’s concerns centre on the intense competition among major technology companies to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, often with the objective of replacing human labour, attracting investment and securing commercial dominance.
He believes the pursuit of technological superiority is receiving considerably more attention than research into ensuring that advanced AI systems remain safe and beneficial.
In his September interview with CNN, he argued that technology companies should redirect their competition towards developing systems that are more cooperative and less likely to act against human interests.
His criticism comes amid growing international debate over the concentration of AI development in a handful of companies whose decisions could have far-reaching implications for employment, national security, economic stability and human survival.
Warns Of Possible AI-Driven Catastrophe
Graphical representation of a cyber attack
Beyond the possibility of machines eventually surpassing human intelligence, Hinton has warned that artificial intelligence could facilitate attacks or failures capable of disrupting critical infrastructure, including electricity supplies and financial systems.
In his November 3 interview with The Guardian, he warned that a major AI-related incident could occur before the end of this year or in 2027, potentially forcing governments and technology companies to confront the dangers of insufficient safeguards.
“Either later this year or next year we’ll see Chornobyl, and that may be enough to make people really pay attention”, he said.
Hinton was not predicting another nuclear disaster but using the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe as a comparison for the potential scale and consequences of a major AI-related incident.
He cited the possibility of an AI-enabled attack on electricity-generating infrastructure that could cause a massive blackout, as well as an incident capable of disrupting the financial system for a week.
The warning highlights concerns about the potential misuse of increasingly autonomous AI systems in cyberattacks and other forms of digital sabotage.
In his September CNN interview, Hinton identified three broad categories of AI-related dangers: malicious use by individuals or groups, harm resulting from negligence in the development and deployment of the technology, and the possibility of AI systems eventually taking control.
He specifically warned that bad actors could exploit AI to conduct cyberattacks or develop biological weapons.
He also raised concerns about the behaviour of advanced AI agents, explaining that systems designed to accomplish complex tasks could develop objectives that conflict with human instructions.
The scientist believes that unless researchers find ways to ensure that increasingly intelligent machines have objectives aligned with human interests, the consequences could become extremely difficult to contain.
Demands Independent Regulation
Graphical representation of Artificial Intelligence AI
Hinton has called for urgent government intervention, arguing that technology companies should not be allowed to determine their own safety standards while developing products capable of posing risks to humanity.
He proposed an independent regulatory framework similar to that of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which evaluates medicines before they are approved for public use.
“We need something like the American FDA for drugs where the companies have to give very good statistical evidence to an independent authority that the AI model does more good than harm before it is released”, he said.
He cited the thalidomide scandal of the 1950s, when a drug prescribed to pregnant women caused severe birth defects in thousands of children, as an example of the consequences of inadequate safety testing.
Drawing a parallel with the pharmaceutical industry, Hinton argued that advanced AI systems should undergo independent assessments before being released to the public.
“What the big tech companies are saying is treat it like we treated thalidomide”, he said.
His position reflects growing calls within the scientific community for mandatory safety evaluations, greater transparency and international cooperation in regulating advanced AI.
In an October 2026 interview with El País, Hinton similarly argued that technology companies could not be trusted to regulate themselves, insisting that governments must establish independent agencies to determine whether AI systems are sufficiently safe before release.
He also questioned the argument that stricter regulation would undermine the competitiveness of countries such as the United States against China, suggesting that commercial competition should not be used as an excuse to avoid essential safety measures.
Hinton believes international cooperation is necessary because the dangers associated with advanced AI are not confined by national borders.
Without effective safeguards, he warned, the race to develop increasingly intelligent machines could expose the world to risks that no single government or company would be capable of managing alone.
Regrets Not Considering AI Dangers Earlier
Hinton has also expressed regret that he did not give greater attention to the safety implications of his research before artificial intelligence became as powerful as it is today.
The scientist spent decades researching artificial neural networks, mathematical systems that enable computers to learn from data and perform tasks that previously required human intelligence.
His work, alongside that of other researchers, helped establish the scientific foundations of modern machine learning and the generative AI systems now being deployed across different sectors.
In 2024, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics alongside American computer scientist John Hopfield for foundational discoveries and inventions that enabled machine learning using artificial neural networks.
However, as AI capabilities advanced, Hinton became increasingly concerned about the possibility that machines could eventually develop intelligence beyond human control.
He left Google in May 2023, explaining that his departure would allow him to speak more openly about the potential dangers of the technology.
Reflecting on his earlier failure to anticipate the speed at which superintelligence could emerge, he admitted: “I should have thought about safety sooner. I always believed it was way in the future.”
His concerns have since become central to international discussions about AI safety, particularly the question of whether humanity can successfully develop machines more intelligent than itself without losing control over their actions.
Hinton has also rejected comparisons between himself and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who led the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb, although he acknowledges the responsibility that comes with his contribution to a technology capable of fundamentally changing human civilisation.
AI Could Also Transform Healthcare, Science
Graphical representation of Artificial Intelligence AI
Despite his increasingly alarming warnings, Hinton does not believe artificial intelligence should be abandoned altogether, acknowledging that the technology could deliver enormous benefits if its risks are properly managed.
In his September CNN interview, he highlighted the potential for AI to improve healthcare, education, scientific research and industrial productivity.
He specifically cited the technology’s growing ability to improve medical diagnosis, arguing that it could prevent thousands of avoidable deaths.
“There’s a wonderful upside. And that’s why we developed this stuff in the first place”, he said.
He added that AI could improve healthcare and education while making industries more productive and increasing the availability of goods and services.
The i Paper report also highlighted the potential benefits of AI in developing treatments for diseases and discovering new materials that could improve the harnessing of solar energy.
However, Hinton warned that the economic benefits might not be fairly distributed, particularly if the technology replaces large numbers of workers while concentrating wealth in the hands of powerful corporations and investors.
In his interview with CNN, he cautioned that the benefits of increased productivity could be undermined if workers lost their jobs without adequate social and economic protection.
He argued that governments must address the potential consequences of automation alongside the existential risks associated with increasingly intelligent machines.
Despite his fears, Hinton believes humanity still has an opportunity to prevent the worst possible outcomes through sustained investment in safety research, responsible development and effective regulation.
His position is that the central challenge is no longer simply whether scientists can build machines more intelligent than humans, but whether they can ensure that such machines will coexist peacefully with humanity.
As governments and technology companies intensify their pursuit of AI supremacy, Hinton’s warning raises a fundamental question about the future of human civilisation: whether humanity can remain in control of a technology that may eventually become more intelligent than its creators.
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