Title: What I Learned From Bernie Sanders and Geoffrey Hinton’s Conversation on AI at Georgetown

Justin Higgins (C’28), originally from Albany, New York, is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and a Georgetown Storyteller. He plans to study government with a minor in journalism.

Arriving at Gaston Hall for a conversation between Senator Bernie Sanders and Geoffrey Hinton, also known as the “Godfather of AI,” was one of those moments that felt all too familiar at Georgetown. 

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure if I would attend this conversation until the day before. While I was interested, Georgetown has no shortage of speaker events on campus. For example, over the past three semesters, I have heard many leaders in the world of politics speak, including Hillary Clinton, Jamie Raskin, John Legend, Karoline Leavitt, Nikki Haley and Jack Schlossberg, and have met with even more accomplished individuals privately in office hours. 

Many of these experiences feature notoriously long lines, and I wasn’t sure if my class schedule would allow me to wait for an hour to hear from the senior senator from Vermont.

However, after one of my bosses at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) got me a reserved ticket (a nice job perk), I was set on attending. 

As I had anticipated, there was immense interest in hearing from Sanders and Hinton. The line into Gaston Hall wrapped through Healy Hall and into the outdoors, as students waited in excitement to hear a discussion centered on a simple question: What happens to working Americans in an AI-dominated economy?

Conversation Recap

Hinton and Sanders engaged in the conversation because, according to Sanders, there is a lack of discourse around AI and how we as a society should address it. 

The format of the event was part Q&A – with Sanders asking Hinton questions, occasionally adding in his own context – followed by the opportunity for Georgetown students to ask their own questions.

For someone like me who is not particularly interested in the tech industry and AI, Hinton’s wealth of knowledge was very accessible. For example, at one point, he compared AI systems to the human brain when discussing the rate at which AI is catching up to human capabilities. 

At another point, Hinton explained that the difference between the development of AI and past technological progress is forecasted “massive unemployment.” 

“The people that lose their jobs won’t have jobs to go to. If AI gets as smart as people, or smarter, any job they might do can be done by AI,” Hinton said. 

Sanders shared this concern, emphasizing how the wealthy are investing in AI technologies without worrying about what will happen to working-class jobs. 

My Takeaways

One thing I always appreciate from these conversations is the candidness of the speakers. I am always struck by how honest and straightforward most of their takes are. This candidness can be seen in the Q&A portion of the night. Despite the reason for Senator Sanders’ appearance at Georgetown was to discuss AI, he did not shy away from discussing current government dynamics or answering questions about healthcare.

At Georgetown, we don’t get rehearsed campaign stump speeches. As GU Politics puts it, we get to “pull back the curtain” on DC’s best and brightest, as Georgetown is a special place where national figures seem eager to engage with students. 

It’s this kind of access that makes being a Georgetown student feel so special yet strangely routine. Many people would be satisfied with hearing one or two popular speakers throughout their entire years in college. Still, it’s these interesting community conversations that remind me how lucky us Georgetown students are to call them normal.