Is AI Hiding Its Full Power? With Geoffrey Hinton

StarTalk February 28, 2026
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Go to https://ground.news/startalk to stay fully informed on the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off through our link for unlimited access to the Vantage plan this month. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet How did we go from digital computers to AI seemingly everywhere? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly dive into the mechanics of thinking, how AI got its start, and what deep learning really means with cognitive and computer scientist, Nobel Laureate, and one of the architects of AI, Geoffrey Hinton. Hinton explains the fundamental shift from logic-based rule programming to the biological approach: building systems that learn the way a brain does. Learn about the history of computer science that led to the breakthroughs we have today. We break down the structure of artificial neural networks and the meaning of AI buzzwords like “deep learning” really mean. You’ll learn about the layering of data processing and how the first layer of neurons might detect a simple edge, the second a beak, and the third a bird’s head. Hinton explains the light bulb moment of backpropagation, the mathematical breakthrough using calculus to send force backward to strengthen previous connections. Is this a process we share with neural nets? We discuss whether AI thinks like us and explore why AlphaGo succeeded in beating us at our own game by generating its own data and whether LLMs will hit a ceiling as they run out of human-written text. Can AI reason? What does it mean for something or someone to think? As the science turns toward the future, we tackle heavy questions regarding the massive energy demands of data centers and whether AI can reinvent solar technology to save itself. Hinton discusses the "Volkswagen Effect," where a model might strategically underperform to avoid being unplugged. We dive into consciousness to ask if subjective experience is just a byproduct of complex perception and if chatbots already possess it. What are the upsides as well as the downsides? The singularity isn’t imminent yet... but the "yet" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Thanks to our Patrons Kylie Jonasson, Bryan Pfeifer, Anton Couzens, Brad Smith, Jeffdrumseitz, Richard Vaughan, sSHEScience©, Ben Mondoux, Julien Ballez, Tom, Matteo Berlanda, Dr. Cool Young Booger Results Murray, Shawndra Hill, Mike Easter, Charles Shields, Xander-Tony Kehr, Chase Busha, Leah, Justin Harris, Stephen Schultz, Jason West, ImaPerson, Argie Weatherington, Ted Barnett, MD, Lizzie O'Grady, Kimja, Paul Baltatescu, Hanna Cantley, Bill Hoffman, FreddieAbdon, Trish, Muath, Timeless Angel, Dxly, Michael Fuery, Tom Hadrava, Guy Eran, Max Murphy, Cristy Nourash, Donita Buchheit, Kel, Screaming Firehawk, Patricia Churchland, Mikael Stenberg, Dale Duncan, Ghostpacho, Nathan Lehenbauer, James Schaedler, Andrew G, Samuel Sladkovský, Punished Leno, Chris L, George Papura, Miguel Basto, Brittney Starkey, David Rouisse, WTFbro Podcast, Marvin, Jason Driscoll, Yasyoc, Donte Jones, Trevor, Andrew, Jared Harrison, Terence Garrod, TheCrassDragon, Daithon Brown, Perkins, Brendan Gost, Daria Shkrabachenko, Tania Cortes Alonso, JD, Jacob Westman, Lacey Rae Castleberry, Isaac Castrillo, Eric Bouliane, Tim The Secular Humanist, João Sampaio, Aegor, Evan Schreier, Amanda Burris, Allen Arthur, Vikas Jain, Jeroen Wilms, Nathan Schepker, Sverre Moe, Ruth Crisp, Legend Omega, B Dubbz, Jay Youmans, Nite Stalker, Adrian Hungate, Marguerite Nesfield, Michael Engelman, Scott Donner, Diamir Elliott, Warsame Giuled, Kansas Dan, Rey Pierantoni, and Rick Servello for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Geoffrey Hinton 03:00 - Approaches to Make and Intelligent System 07:19 - How Artificial Neural Nets Work 14:12 - Making a Neural Net By Hand 24:41 - Backpropigation Breakthrough 33:44 - Why AI Seemed to Arrive So Fast 34:39 - What is Thinking? 37:50 - Is AI Better at Learning? 47:41 - Can We Humanize AI? 50:58 - Setting Up Guardrails 54:04 - Is AI Lying to Us? 58:47 - Will AI Be the End of Us All? 01:00:51 - Does AI Hallucinate? 01:04:36 - The Upside 01:08:13 - Will AI Create More AI? 01:10:17 - AI Nuclear Winter: Will We Unite? 01:15:10 - 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics 01:16:44 - The Price of Replacing All the Jobs 01:22:50 - Achieving Consciousness 01:28:37 - The Work to Be Done Before the Singularity Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

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