Smarter Than Us

The British scientist Geoffrey Hinton is one of the principal architects of modern artificial intelligence. His groundbreaking work on artificial neural networks laid the foundation for today’s AI models—work that earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics.

For decades, Hinton believed that machines would eventually surpass human intelligence. What he did not expect was how soon it might happen. That realization transformed him from one of AI's foremost pioneers into its most authoritative warning voice. Smarter Than Us is his long-awaited call to arms. As he shows, only by fully understanding how AI works can we grasp how dangerous it is becoming.

Grounding his arguments in neuroscience and computer science, he explains why we cannot expect superintelligent machines to remain subservient to us, and why their emergence may alter our understanding of humanity's place in the universe as profoundly as the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions did before it. Our survival depends not on dominating these systems, he shows us, but on ensuring they care about our wellbeing. The more seriously we govern AI while it is still in our control—through safety research, regulation, international collaboration and accountability from tech companies—the better-placed we will be for what comes next.

Clear-eyed, persuasive, and deeply humane, Smarter Than Us is a warning from the scientist who helped make this world-changing technology possible—and a call to shape it while the future is still ours.