Geoffrey Hinton didn't quit Google to retire and watch Netflix. He quit so he could tell us we're fucked. Today he told the Financial Times exactly how fucked we are: "Rich people are going to use AI to replace workers... massive unemployment and huge rise in profits."
This isn't some random tech blogger doom-posting. This is the guy who invented the backpropagation algorithm that makes modern AI possible. He's got a Nobel Prize and spent decades at Google building the technology that's about to eat everyone's job.
Corporate AI Is About Cutting Labor Costs, Not Helping Workers
The real AI revolution isn't ChatGPT writing your emails. It's companies discovering they can fire entire departments and replace them with AI systems that work 24/7 without healthcare, vacation days, or complaints about working conditions.
Hinton's prediction isn't speculation - it's already happening. Entry-level jobs are disappearing as companies realize fresh college grads can be replaced with AI for most basic tasks. Customer service, content writing, basic coding, data entry - all getting automated faster than anyone expected.
The New York Fed found companies using AI are retraining existing workers rather than firing them for now. But layoffs are expected to spike once the technology gets better and companies finish "optimizing" their workforce.
Healthcare Won't Save You Either
Hinton previously claimed healthcare would be safe from AI replacement because "there's almost no limit to how much healthcare people can absorb." That was before AI started diagnosing diseases better than doctors and drug discovery AI began replacing pharmaceutical researchers.
Even if healthcare stays human-heavy, that's one industry out of dozens. What about the other 90% of jobs that don't involve keeping people alive?
Universal Basic Income Won't Fix Human Dignity
Sam Altman keeps pushing Universal Basic Income as the solution to AI unemployment. Give everyone money, let AI do the work, problem solved. Hinton thinks that's bullshit: "It won't deal with human dignity and the value people derive from having jobs."
He's right. UBI treats humans like pets - keep them fed and housed while the real economy runs without them. People want purpose, achievement, and contribution to society. Hard to get that when the government sends you a check to stay out of the way.
This Is Capitalism Working As Designed
The brutal honesty in Hinton's warning: "That's not AI's fault, that is the capitalist system." AI is just the latest tool for extracting maximum value from minimum labor costs. Same playbook as factory automation, computer systems, and outsourcing - except this time it's happening to white-collar jobs too.
Companies will use AI to maximize profits and minimize payroll. Shareholders will celebrate. Workers will get fucked. It's not a bug, it's the entire point of the system.
The guy who created the technology to make this possible is now warning us about it. Maybe we should listen.