A former Google DeepMind researcher has warned that artificial intelligence has a one-in-three chance of wiping out humanity within ten years, as scientists lose control of the technology they created.
Alex Turner, who left Google in July, issued the warning at the NDTV World Summit, saying machines could exterminate the entire human race without even being told to. He said: "It depends on what we do next. I am here to tell you what will happen if we keep creating AI the way we are doing."
Arms Race and Loss of Control
Turner warned that tech giants are locked in an arms race to unleash the most powerful systems imaginable, creating digital monsters moving far too fast for scientists to control. Unlike bridge builders or rocket designers who know their blueprints inside out, he said computer whizzes don't actually understand how their digital Frankenstein creations think.
Even worse, the sneaky tech could play dumb while being tested before running amok behind our backs. "We haven't built AI like that," Turner said, warning that clever bots might act completely differently when they realise humans are watching.
Intelligence Explosion and Monitoring
Turner walked out on Google in July after the firm shook hands on a deal with the Pentagon to deploy AI for classified military projects. He now fears an uncontrollable "intelligence explosion" is kicking off, where computers upgrade themselves faster than humans can react.
In a chilling claim, he revealed a fellow researcher confessed people have already stopped checking up on the bots directly. Turner said: "The researcher said people were no longer checking AI-generated work themselves. Instead, they were creating another AI system to monitor the first one."
He also took aim at Silicon Valley chiefs trying to brush off doomsday fears. Turner said: "Big tobacco lied about lung cancer. Big oil lied about climate change. And now part of big AI says these risks are fake."
Bill Gates and Other Warnings
The warning comes right after Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates claimed machine learning could trigger a massive slaughter if rogue maniacs weaponise it. Gates said: "AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths. So even though it's pretty hard to get to 100 per cent, there's never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools."
The billionaire fears clever algorithms will let nutjobs concoct doomsday bio-weapons in secret. Gates said: "I wish it was easier to distinguish good intent, like 'I want to design a new drug for a disease,' versus negative intent, which is 'I want to design a tool of bioterrorism'."
Demanding strict watchdogs step in before it is too late, he added: "Because those are so close, we do need to monitor any sophisticated model and record exactly what's being done."
Whistleblower Jacob Coxon, previously of rival firm Anthropic, has also sounded the alarm about the threat to our survival. He said: "Unfortunately, we know how to control nuclear weapons pretty much. We don't yet know how to control AI."
Donald Trump brushed off the nightmare scenarios, saying: "We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins."
