# Large Language Models Already Understand by Geoffrey Hinton > "I think my main message is there's enormous uncertainty about what's (going to) happen next. [Large language models] do understand. And because they understand, we need to think hard about what's going to happen next. And we just don't know." > **— Geoffrey Hinton**, *2023, 60 Minutes discussion relayed by University of Toronto* ## Sources and Context - **Exact original source passage:** “I think my main message is there’s enormous uncertainty about what’s (going to) happen next,” Hinton said. “These things do understand. And because they understand, we need to think hard about what’s going to happen next. And we just don’t know.” - **Editorial repair and evidence:** Brackets replace “These things” with the large language models, including ChatGPT and PaLM, identified immediately before the quotation. The poster preserves Hinton’s uncertainty and repeats his warning that the outcome is unknown. [University of Toronto](https://www.utoronto.ca/news/humanity-turning-point-ai-geoffrey-hinton-tells-cbs-news-s-60-minutes), published October 10, 2023. No timecode is asserted. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/Science of Digital Consciousness|Science of Digital Consciousness]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Third Possibility|The Third Possibility]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Geoffrey Hinton|Geoffrey Hinton]] - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Consciousness Indicators|Consciousness Indicators]] - [[wiki/Machine Consciousness|Machine Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Hard Problem of Consciousness|Hard Problem of Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Digital Minds|Digital Minds]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "I think my main message is there's enormous uncertainty about what's (going to) happen next. [Large language models] do understand. And because they understand, we need to think hard about what's going to happen next. And we just don't know." — Geoffrey Hinton, 2023, 60 Minutes discussion relayed by University of Toronto https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-geoffrey-hinton-things-understand ```