Last week, CBS released a second interview with Geoffrey Hinton — a British-Canadian computer scientist, cognitive scientist, and Nobel laureate¹ in physics for foundational contributions to machine learning with artificial neural networks ↗
¹ In 2024, Hinton was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics with John Hopfield "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks." His development of the Boltzmann machine was explicitly cited in the award. Hinton is also a recipient of the 2018 Turing Award and is widely referred to as “the Godfather of AI.”
At the end of the interview, when asked what might help address the concerns he raised, he said:
If the public realized what was happening, they would put a lot of pressure on governments to assist AI companies in developing this more safely.
Hinton emphasizes meaningful change is possible, but only if the public becomes aware and takes action.
Our Thoughts
Awareness begins with focus.
From the very beginning, we’ve emphasized the importance of reclaiming control over our attention and expanding our collective awareness.
Today, human attention is increasingly directed and held by AI systems. As a result, attention itself has become a scarce and valuable resource.
That’s why it's worth reminding ourselves: focus is key to setting priorities. It enables people to recognize what truly matters and to manage their limited resources — time, attention, and energy.
Human history shows that focus and priorities are often essential for the survival and flourishing of entire societies and cultures.
When a developed civilization loses its focus and misaligns its priorities, it can contribute to the depletion of resources and the weakening of its power. As a result, many aspects of civilization, such as urban life, education, infrastructure, and public safety, may gradually deteriorate.
We hope that AI and public platform developers continue to respect people’s cognitive autonomy — the human ability to choose for themselves what to pay attention to, what to believe, and how to act, so that individuals can maintain their focus on what truly matters.
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