# AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton warns of a possible Chornobyl-style AI incident within a year

> Original title: AI ‘godfather’ Geoffrey Hinton: it might turn out we were better off without AI

- Source: The Guardian · AI
- Published: 2026-11-03T21:35:42.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/tuez6wooqvzrz11uk6wpa489k
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/nov/03/ai-godfather-geoffrey-hinton-better-off-without-ai

## Summary

Nobel prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton told the Guardian it could turn out humans would have been better off never developing AI. He warned a large-scale incident, such as a temporary blackout of financial or power systems, could happen this year or next. Hinton said he does not trust OpenAI CEO Sam Altman "at all" and backs mandatory testing and independent evaluation of frontier AI models.