Prof Yann LeCun, one of the most influential voices in artificial intelligence has pushed back strongly against fears that AI will overpower humans or wipe out jobs. Prof Yann LeCun, often called one of the godfathers of AI, said concerns about artificial general intelligence or AGI threatening humanity are overblown and unrealistic.
Speaking at a press event, Prof LeCun said warnings about AI destroying the world were “preposterously ridiculous”. He argued that while computers would eventually become more intelligent than humans, that moment is still far away. He added that if a system is found to be unsafe, “if you realise it’s not safe you just don’t built it.” A government advisor in the UK recently told a news outlet that some powerful AI systems might need to be banned, a view Prof LeCun does not support.
Prof LeCun won the Turing Award in 2018 along with Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio for their breakthroughs in AI. All 3 later became known as the godfathers of AI. Today, Prof LeCun serves as chief AI scientist at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Unlike some of his peers, he does not believe AI poses an existential threat. “Will AI take over the world? No, this is a projection of human nature on machines” he said, adding that locking up AI research would be a serious mistake.
He compared current fears around AGI to early doubts about aviation safety, saying critics worry because they cannot yet imagine how such systems can be made safe. Prof LeCun said AI will advance gradually, not suddenly. Early systems may be as capable as a rat brain, he said and would still operate in data centres with an off switch. Meta is investing heavily in AI research, including Objective Driven AI that focuses on memory, reasoning, planning and common sense, which he said current chatbots lack.
On jobs, Prof LeCun said AI will not permanently replace large sections of the workforce. Instead, work will evolve, as it has with past technologies. He described intelligent machines as the foundation for a new renaissance for humanity, similar to the impact of the printing press or the internet. He also commented on Europe’s AI Act, saying start ups find it too broad and restrictive, though he supports regulation tailored to specific uses such as healthcare and transport.
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