Geoffrey Hinton, the British-Canadian computer scientist known as the "godfather of AI" for his pioneering work on neural networks, has warned that superintelligent artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity. He argues that developing AI systems more powerful than any individual, company or nation would be reckless given the lack of scientific consensus on how to control them safely, and could ultimately lead to human extinction if control is lost. His intervention matters because it lends significant scientific credibility to calls for binding regulation, set against resistance from prominent industry figures who favour a lighter-touch approach.

His comments coincide with the UK Artificial Superintelligence Security Bill, drafted by campaign group ControlAI and put forward by Labour MP Alex Sobel, which is due to be presented to Parliament and would prohibit the development of superintelligent AI in Britain. ControlAI says the campaign already has support from more than 135 cross-party parliamentarians, as well as Nobel laureates and AI executives who have described mitigating extinction risk as a global priority. This stands in contrast to figures such as OpenAI's Sam Altman, who has warned that EU-style regulation would be "disastrous" for innovation, prompting Hinton to call for "counter-pressure" against unregulated AI development.