Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as “The Godfather” of modern AI, quit his engineering leadership role at Google due to concerns about the existential threat posed by AI.

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The statement to evaluate is: 'Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as “The Godfather” of modern AI, quit his engineering leadership role at Google due to concerns about the existential threat posed by AI.'

Option 1: True. One would assess this claim by checking the sequence of events and Hinton’s stated motivations. In public records and interviews, Hinton did not publicly announce that he resigned from an engineering leadership role at Google specifically because he was concerned about an existential threat posed by AI. While he has spoken about the risks and safety concerns surrounding AI, the timeline and cited reasons for any departure from a leadership position at Google do not clearly align with quitting over existential threat concerns alone. This makes the claim questionable and not supported by the strongest available sources.

Option 2: False. The widely reported history indicates that Hinton remained at Google in a research-oriented capacity for many years and took on roles within the company’s research ecosystem rather than stepping down explicitly due to existential risk concerns. He is also known for moving between academic positions and industry research over a long career. The idea that he resigned specifically to protest existential risk conflates general safety concerns with a definite, publicly documented resignation motive. Therefore, this statement is inconsistent with the documented record and widely cited biographical timelines.

Additional nuance: Even if Hinton has expressed concerns about AI safety and existential risks in other contexts, the precise claim that his departure from an engineering leadership role at Google was driven by those concerns does not have solid corroboration in the public record. Misattributing a motivation to a high-profile figure is a common pitfall when evaluating biographical statements, so it’s important to separate broad safety commentary from the explicit cause of a career move.

Overall, evaluating the available public information suggests that the claim in Option 1 (True) is not accurate as stated, while Option 2 (False) correctly captures the absence of a documented, motive-specific resignation tied to existential threat concerns. The reasoning hinges on separating general AI safety discourse from a clearly stated, motive-driven departure from a leadership position at Google.

KSB-113-006.2025F [25 Fall] Midterm Exam- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as “The Godfather” of modern AI, quit his engineering leadership role at Google due to concerns about the existential threat posed by AI.

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