Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, widely regarded as the 'godfather of artificial intelligence' (AI), has warned that AI could trigger a Chernobyl-like crisis later this year or in 2027, potentially causing temporary blackouts in financial or power systems. Speaking before a screening of the documentary AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About, Hinton told The Guardian he was not a "doomer" about AI but believed humanity would have been "better off" never developing the technology. "Either later this year or next year we'll see Chernobyl, and that may be enough to make people really pay attention," he said. Asked whom he was referring to, Hinton replied: "World leaders other than Trump". The 78-year-old also criticised leading figures in the AI industry, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Sam Altman, for prioritising the race to develop more powerful AI models over safety concerns. Hinton helped lay the foundations for machine learning and left Google to speak more freely about the risks posed by the technology. Despite his concerns, he believes a catastrophe can still be prevented through sustained efforts to control AI development, saying: "My gut is that we're still in control."