TLDR: Nobel Prize winners David Gross and Arieh Warshel have issued a strong warning against the overhyping of artificial intelligence and the potential for human dependency on the technology. Speaking in Hong Kong, they urged individuals not to become ‘slaves’ to AI, while also acknowledging its utility as a computational tool for scientific advancement.
During a recent speaking event in Hong Kong, two distinguished Nobel Prize laureates, Professor David Gross and Professor Arieh Warshel, voiced significant concerns regarding the current trajectory of artificial intelligence. Their warnings centered on the prevalent overhype surrounding AI’s capabilities and the growing risk of human over-reliance on the technology, with one laureate explicitly advising against becoming a ‘slave’ to it.
Professor Gross, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 for his contributions to understanding particle interactions, expressed skepticism about AI’s true intelligence. ‘I think there is an enormous amount of hype,’ Gross stated, adding, ‘I’m not that impressed by AI as an intelligent machine.’ He further elaborated, ‘It is certainly not intelligent as everyone in this room is, and I doubt whether it will replace or destroy us.’ While acknowledging AI’s ‘great capabilities’ when provided with sufficient data and its ability to make ‘reasonable conjectures,’ Gross also highlighted its significant drawbacks, noting that the technology ‘was also capable of lying and was often wrong.’
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Echoing these sentiments, Professor Warshel, a co-recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems, cautioned young people against becoming excessively dependent on AI. Both scientists were speaking at a talk hosted by the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards and Asia Society Hong Kong on Sunday, October 26, 2025. The discussion explored the intersection of fundamental science and the age of AI. Despite their warnings about overhype and dependency, both laureates recognized AI’s potential as a powerful computational tool, capable of expanding the possibilities of scientific research, drawing parallels to the exponential advancements in computing over recent decades.
