Renowned AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, often hailed as the “Godfather of AI”, has once again raised pressing alarms about the risks of artificial intelligence, cautioning that machines may soon outperform humans in nearly all intellectual tasks. In a recent conversation on The Diary of a CEO podcast (June 16), Hinton warned that AI’s rapid evolution could soon lead to mass unemployment and even pose a threat to human existence in the coming three decades.
For now, Hinton believes manual labour roles, like plumbing, are relatively secure. “It’ll be a long time before AI is good at physical manipulation,” he said. But for mundane cognitive tasks, including call centre jobs and paralegal work, AI could become the default.
He challenged the widespread notion that AI will create new jobs to replace the ones it eliminates, asking: What roles will be left when machines handle nearly all mental tasks?
His concerns are supported by recent employment data. A May 2025 report by SignalFire highlighted a 25% drop in graduate hiring at tech giants like Meta and Google from 2023 to 2024. Only 7% of hires were fresh graduates in 2024—down from 10%—as AI tools increasingly manage entry-level responsibilities.
While some roles may shift to AI-assisted work, Hinton cautioned this could lead to one worker doing the job of 10, potentially decimating the job market across industries.
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