Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), has resigned from Google, according to a statement he made to the New York Times.

Hinton, who is considered the godfather of AI, expressed regret for his work and warned of the potential dangers associated with AI chatbots, reports BBC. 

"Right now, they're not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be," he told BBC. 

Hinton also acknowledged that his age, 75, played a role in his decision to retire from Google.

"I'm 75, so it's time to retire," he said. 

Current AI systems like ChatGPT are the result of Dr. Hinton's groundbreaking work in the fields of deep learning and neural networks.

However, the cognitive psychologist and computer scientist told the BBC that the chatbot may soon surpass the amount of knowledge that a human brain can store.

"At the moment, what we're observing is that things like GPT-4 much surpass a person in terms of its broad understanding. It's not as skilled at reasoning, but it can already make simple decisions,” he said. 

He suggested that these chatbots could soon surpass human intelligence and expressed concern about "bad actors" who might use AI for nefarious purposes. 

He praised Google for their responsible approach to AI and emphasized the need for caution and vigilance in the development of these technologies.

"I actually want to say something positive about Google. And they're more credible if I'm not affiliated with Google," said Hinton. 

Google's top scientist, Jeff Dean, stated in a statement, "We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI."