The technology could become more intelligent than people and eventually take over, according to Yoshua Bengio

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) could pose grave risks to humanity as it becomes harder to control, renowned computer scientist Yoshua Bengio has warned.

A professor at the University of Montreal and head of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, Bengio told CNBC on Thursday that machines could soon have most of the cognitive abilities of humans.

The scientist was referring to artificial general intelligence (AGI), a type of AI technology that aims to equal or become better than human intellect. “Intelligence gives power. So, who’s going to control that power?” Bengio said.

“If we create entities that are smarter than us and have their own goals, what does that mean for humanity? Are we in danger?” he asked.

The computer scientist cited a common fear that the AI machines currently being trained “would lead to systems that turn against humans.” 

He pointed out that a limited number of organizations and governments could afford to build powerful and costly AI machines. This would lead to a concentration of economic, political and military power, eventually threatening the geopolitical stability worldwide, he warned.

“There are people who might want to abuse that power, and there are people who might be happy to see humanity replaced by machines,” he said, calling for stricter regulation.

According to the computer scientist, companies developing AI and competing with each other for global tech domination are leading “a danger race” and should be held liable for their actions. Bengio is best known for his pioneering work in deep learning, which earned him the 2018 A.M. Turing Award, known as ‘the Nobel Prize of Computing,’ with scientists Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun. In 2019, he was awarded the Killam Prize, and in 2022 became the computer scientist with the highest impact in the world as measured by h-index.

In recent years, high-profile figures in the tech industry have been raising concerns over the potential dangers posed by the unregulated adoption of AI technology.

Hinton, who is seen as a pioneer of AI, has warned that the world could encounter major disasters before the use of AI weapons is regulated in a proper manner.

Bengio was among the top industry figures, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who co-signed a letter last year calling for aggressive regulation of the AI sector. In June, he endorsed another open letter about the technology’s “serious risks.” The letter was signed by employees of Open AI, the creator of viral AI chatbot ChatGPT.