--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody right now, they look at the…" description: "\"Everybody right now, they look at the current technology, and they think, 'OK, that's what artificial neural nets are.' And they don't realize how arbi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/geoffrey-hinton-12991_artificial_everybody-right-now-they-look-at-the-cur_3030752.jpg" --- # Everybody right now, they look at the current technology… ![“Everybody right now, they look at the current technology, and they think, 'OK, that's what artificial neural nets are.' And they don't realize how arbitrary it is. We just made it up! And there's no reason why we shouldn't make up something else.” quote by Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/geoffrey-hinton-12991_artificial_everybody-right-now-they-look-at-the-cur_3030752.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/geoffrey-hinton-12991_artificial_everybody-right-now-they-look-at-the-cur_3030752.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/geoffrey-hinton-12991_artificial_everybody-right-now-they-look-at-the-cur_3030752.jpg) > “Everybody right now, they look at the current technology, and they think, 'OK, that's what artificial neural nets are.' And they don't realize how arbitrary it is. We just made it up! And there's no reason why we shouldn't make up something else.” [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Current AI models are arbitrary constructs; we can invent alternatives. **In simple terms:** AI is a human-made tool. Key Takeaway Explore new AI designs. Themes innovation technology creativity Mood curious optimistic Type technical visionary When to use this quote - research labs - startup development - education Key Concepts model architecture paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - What limits current AI designs? - How can alternative models improve? A Different Perspective May underestimate practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [My main interest is in trying to find radically different kinds of neural nets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/my-main-interest-is-in-trying-to-find-radically-different-kinds-of/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [The paradigm for intelligence was logical reasoning, and the idea of what an internal representation would look like was it would be some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/the-paradigm-for-intelligence-was-logical-reasoning-and-the-idea-of/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [I had a stormy graduate career, where every week we would have a shouting match. I kept doing deals where I would say, 'Okay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/i-had-a-stormy-graduate-career-where-every-week-we-would-have-a/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Having been trained as a computer scientist in the '90s, everybody knew that AI didn't work. People tried it. They tried neural nets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergey-brin/having-been-trained-as-a-computer-scientist-in-the-90s-everybody-knew/) [Sergey Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergey-brin/) > [New methods always look better than old ones. Neural nets are better than logistic regression, support vector machines are better than neural nets, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-efron/new-methods-always-look-better-than-old-ones-neural-nets-are-better/) Bradley Efron > [The neural code usually refers to how your current thoughts and feelings and perceptions are encoded in the signals that neurons are passing around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/the-neural-code-usually-refers-to-how-your-current-thoughts-and/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [I get very excited when we discover a way of making neural networks better - and when that's closely related to how the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/i-get-very-excited-when-we-discover-a-way-of-making-neural-networks/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [The question is, can we make neural networks that are 1,000 times bigger? And how can we do that with existing computation?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/the-question-is-can-we-make-neural-networks-that-are-1-000-times/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Once your computer is pretending to be a neural net, you get it to be able to do a particular task by just showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/once-your-computer-is-pretending-to-be-a-neural-net-you-get-it-to-be/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [The pooling operation used in convolutional neural networks is a big mistake, and the fact that it works so well is a disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/the-pooling-operation-used-in-convolutional-neural-networks-is-a-big/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [All you need is lots and lots of data and lots of information about what the right answer is, and you'll be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/all-you-need-is-lots-and-lots-of-data-and-lots-of-information-about/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [We now think of internal representation as great big vectors, and we do not think of logic as the paradigm for how to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/we-now-think-of-internal-representation-as-great-big-vectors-and-we/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [I know there are lots of positives in the evolution of technology, but I also think it will be responsible for the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-marling/i-know-there-are-lots-of-positives-in-the-evolution-of-technology-but/) [Laura Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-marling/) > [The government is right to recognise the importance of science and technology, but I think it is a mistake to ringfence funds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/the-government-is-right-to-recognise-the-importance-of-science-and/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [I have no opposition at all to technology. I think technology is a wonderful thing that has to be used thoughtfully, and we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-have-no-opposition-at-all-to-technology-i-think-technology-is-a/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) ## More by Geoffrey Hinton > [I think the way we're doing computer vision is just wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/i-think-the-way-we-re-doing-computer-vision-is-just-wrong/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Irony is going to be hard to get. You have to be master of the literal first. But then, Americans don't get irony either.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/irony-is-going-to-be-hard-to-get-you-have-to-be-master-of-the-literal/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [My main interest is in trying to find radically different kinds of neural nets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/my-main-interest-is-in-trying-to-find-radically-different-kinds-of/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [A deep-learning system doesn't have any explanatory power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/a-deep-learning-system-doesn-t-have-any-explanatory-power/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [We want to take AI and CIFAR to wonderful new places, where no person, no student, no program has gone before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/we-want-to-take-ai-and-cifar-to-wonderful-new-places-where-no-person/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [In deep learning, the algorithms we use now are versions of the algorithms we were developing in the 1980s, the 1990s. People were very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/in-deep-learning-the-algorithms-we-use-now-are-versions-of-the/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Computers will understand sarcasm before Americans do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/computers-will-understand-sarcasm-before-americans-do/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [The role of radiologists will evolve from doing perceptual things that could probably be done by a highly trained pigeon to doing far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/the-role-of-radiologists-will-evolve-from-doing-perceptual-things/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [I get very excited when we discover a way of making neural networks better - and when that's closely related to how the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/i-get-very-excited-when-we-discover-a-way-of-making-neural-networks/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Deep learning is already working in Google search and in image search; it allows you to image-search a term like 'hug.' It's used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/deep-learning-is-already-working-in-google-search-and-in-image-search/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [In A.I., the holy grail was how do you generate internal representations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/in-a-i-the-holy-grail-was-how-do-you-generate-internal-representations/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [As soon as you have good mechanical technology, you can make things like backhoes that can dig holes in the road. But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/as-soon-as-you-have-good-mechanical-technology-you-can-make-things/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [To deal with a 14-dimensional space, visualize a 3-D space and say 'fourteen' to yourself very loudly. Everyone does it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/to-deal-with-a-14-dimensional-space-visualize-a-3-d-space-and-say/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [In science, you can say things that seem crazy, but in the long run, they can turn out to be right. We can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/in-science-you-can-say-things-that-seem-crazy-but-in-the-long-run/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [My view is we should be doing everything we can to come up with ways of exploiting the current technology effectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/my-view-is-we-should-be-doing-everything-we-can-to-come-up-with-ways/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) [Explore all 52 Geoffrey Hinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) ## More Artificial quotes > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I find theater very lazy and artificial, and then when it's not, it lacks refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-tsakos/i-find-theater-very-lazy-and-artificial-and-then-when-it-s-not-it/) [Natasha Tsakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-tsakos/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/i-think-we-should-be-very-careful-about-artificial-intelligence-if-i/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [We always want to live in an environment where there's no artificial block to good work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/we-always-want-to-live-in-an-environment-where-there-s-no-artificial/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) Browse all 819 Artificial quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody right now, they look at the current technology, and they think, 'OK, that's what artificial neural nets are.' And they don't realize how arbitrary it is. We just made it up! 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