A field guide to AI positions

Geoffrey Hinton

Sources used: First-hand material and reporting or indirect copies.

The map position is our interpretation of the public statements below. Read the method.

Position, range and evidence details

Preferred pace: -50; stated catastrophic-risk concern: 75. These are layout units, not percentages or rankings.

Pace range: -80 to -15; concern range: 50 to 95. Ranges show alternative editorial interpretations, not statistical confidence intervals.

Evidence clarity: medium. Basis: mixed. Implementation: public-advocacy.

Open on the map Reading notes · Structured record

What this position covers

Conditional controls on exceptionally capable AI in a coauthored policy paper. [1] [2]

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What to keep in mind

The proposal is collective and dated. Its control-risk warning is not a probability estimate or a claim that every kind of AI should stop. [1] [2]

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What they say about the pace of AI

Coauthors a call for conditional development halts when dangerous capabilities emerge. [1]

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Mitigation

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What they say about catastrophic risk

Coauthors a warning about irreversible loss of control and human extinction. [1]

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Societal-scale risks

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Context and qualifications

The interview publisher reports continued concern about humans losing control. [2]

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December 2025 episode summary

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The wider picture

Advocates conditional restraints on highly capable AI and warns about losing control. [1] [2]

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Reading the placement

This point summarizes the coauthored proposal; its range allows different readings. [1]

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Newer context

The December 2025 publisher summary describes his concern about control. His proposed protective instincts are an idea, not a demonstrated safeguard. [2]

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https://theaiatlas.org/people/hinton/

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Sources and what we read

  1. 1. Managing extreme AI risks amid rapid progress (version 3)

    Read authors, societal-scale risks and governance/mitigation sections of version 3. Coauthorship supports a shared proposal, not identical personal beliefs or a present-day forecast.

  2. 2. The human cost of AI, with Geoffrey Hinton

    Read the interview publisher's summary and attributed control-risk quotation. The full audio/transcript was not reviewed; this record is reporting, not direct verification of every interview claim.

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.19.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

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