'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton says Google is 'beginning to overtake' OpenAI: 'My guess is Google will win'

Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the 'Godfather of AI,' believes that Google is poised to overtake OpenAI in the artificial intelligence landscape. In a recent interview with Business Insider, Hinton remarked on Google's progress, stating, "It’s actually more surprising that it has taken this long for Google to catch up to OpenAI." Hinton's comments come on the heels of Google's successful launch of Gemini 3, an AI model that many industry experts claim positions the tech giant ahead of OpenAI's GPT-5. Additionally, Google's Nano Banana Pro AI image model has garnered positive attention. After three years of Google facing pressure following the release of ChatGPT, it appears that OpenAI is now the one on alert. "I think that right now they're beginning to overtake it," Hinton noted regarding Google's current standing against OpenAI. The recent spike in Google's stock, driven by reports of a potential billion-dollar deal to provide Meta with AI chips, further underscores the company's growing dominance. Hinton emphasized the strategic advantage of Google developing its own chips, stating, "Google has a lot of very good researchers and obviously a lot of data and a lot of data centers. My guess is Google will win." Reflecting on Google's historical significance in AI, Hinton pointed out that the company was a pioneer in the field. "Google invented transformers and had major chatbots before others entered the space," he explained. However, he noted that Google exercised caution after the fallout from Microsoft's 2016 launch of the 'Tay' AI chatbot, which was taken offline due to offensive behavior. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai previously acknowledged the company’s hesitance in rolling out its chatbot until it reached a satisfactory level of reliability. He remarked, "We hadn't quite gotten it to a level where you could put it out and people would have been okay with Google putting out that product." Hinton spoke to Business Insider shortly before the announcement of a significant $10 million CAD donation from Google to establish the Hinton Chair in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Toronto. This initiative aims to honor Hinton's contributions and enhance research at the university, which will match the donation. Having left Google in 2023, Hinton has been vocal about the potential risks of AI, from its capacity to surpass human intelligence to its implications for job displacement. His groundbreaking work in neural networks earned him a shared Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024, solidifying his legacy in the field. In a statement, Google lauded Hinton's impact, acknowledging that his efforts laid the groundwork for contemporary AI. "This chair honors his legacy and will help the university recruit visionary scholars dedicated to the same kind of curiosity-driven, fundamental research that Geoff championed," the company stated.