Geoffrey Hinton will be giving an academic talk on artificial intelligence at Convocation Hall on Oct. 27. (Photo: Polina Teif)

After with his warnings about , will be engaging directly with researchers and scholars at a University of Toronto event. 

A U of T Emeritus in the ������Ƶ of Computer Science who is often referred to as “the godfather of AI,” Hinton will tackle the question during an academic talk at Convocation Hall on Oct. 27. (Tickets to the in-person event are sold out, but a recording will be shared publicly at a later date). 

His lecture will be followed by a Q&A session co-ordinated by , a professor in the ������Ƶ of Computer Science in the Faculty of Arts & Science who is a Canada CIFAR AI Chair and an associate director at U of T’s . 

The session will give Hinton an opportunity to directly engage with researchers and scholars from across the university regarding the revolutionary technology he helped create.  

“AI is re-shaping the way we live, work and interact with each other,” says McIlraith. “Given the current public discourse about AI, it’s particularly important that scholars across disciplines learn from each other and engage in an informed exchange of views regarding the societal implications of this transformative technology.” 

U of T provides an ideal forum for such scholarly discourse, she adds, because of U of T’s , the “breadth and depth” of expertise at the university and the city of Toronto’s position as of AI research and development. 

"The conversation around AI is no longer housed in the computer science lab or within the offices of Big Tech. It needs to be multidisciplinary to advance our collective understanding of the opportunities and the potential risks so we can work to avoid the risks while benefiting from all that AI has to offer.”  

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science are co-hosting Hinton’s talk in collaboration with the and the Cosmic Future Initiative at the Faculty of Arts & Science. 

— Original story by Adina Bresge for

University Professor Geoffrey Hinton speaks with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley about advanced artificial intelligence. (Image courtesy of 60 Minutes)

, often dubbed the “godfather of artificial intelligence,” explained the potential benefits — and risks — of the technology he helped bring into existence on CBS News’s .

A Emeritus in U of T’s ������Ƶ of Computer Science, Hinton told correspondent Scott Pelley about his decision earlier this year to .

The cognitive psychologist and computer scientist, whose research contributions set the stage for the current acceleration of AI development, says he has no regrets because of the technology’s enormous potential benefits. But he warns that humanity is at a “turning point” in determining AI’s trajectory — and that the decisions we make today could have far-reaching consequences for the future.

“I think my main message is there's enormous uncertainty about what's (going to) happen next,” Hinton told the newsmagazine program. “These things do understand. And because they understand, we need to think hard about what's going to happen next. And we just don't know.”

The University of Toronto’s Raquel Urtasun, a leading expert in machine learning and computer vision, is taking her startup’s self-driving technology for long-haul trucks out for a spin, with several autonomous vehicles ready to hit the road in the United States, according to reports.

The CEO and founder of Waabi told the that a handful of trucks are “ready to be deployed” with human drivers and engineers on-board for safety. In , Urtasun – a professor of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and faculty member at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence – said that Waabi will train the self-driving system to navigate any number of virtual scenarios using a simulator that harnesses the full power of AI.

She added that the approach gives Waabi an advantage over bigger competitors since it’s more efficient – and effective – than relying on real-world testing. 

“Because we can do everything on the simulator we are already ready with a generation that is much more advanced,” Urtasun told the magazine.

Waabi emerged from stealth mode in June 2021 after in funding from Silicon Valley giants such as Khosla Ventures and Uber, as well as AI luminaries including U of T's Geoffrey Hinton, a  Emeritus and Sanja Fidler, an associate professor of computer science.

Originally published on.