In a recent interview, Hinton — widely regarded as the “Godfather of AI” — expressed that Google is now starting to surpass OpenAI. He pointed to recent advances such as Google’s latest models (including Gemini 3 and the image‑model Nano Banana Pro) as evidence that Google’s research, infrastructure, and resources are giving it a strategic advantage.
Hinton noted several factors behind Google’s rise: Google’s ability to produce its own AI‑optimized chips, its vast access to data through global services, its large-scale data‑centre infrastructure, and a deep bench of experienced researchers. Together, these give Google a “big advantage,” making it plausible — in Hinton’s view — that Google could become the leader in frontier‑AI.
He also remarked that Google once led the field — it invented the transformer architecture and had large AI‑research ambitions early on — but held back due to concerns about reputational risk from early missteps. That cautiousness, he suggests, slowed down their push relative to smaller, more aggressive competitors. Now, with renewed momentum and improved capabilities, Google seems to be closing that gap.
The broader significance: Hinton’s view highlights how the competitive balance in AI is fluid and can shift based on where investment, infrastructure, and long‑term strategy align. For companies, governments and researchers, it signals that “leadership” in AI remains contested — and that emerging technical capabilities at major players like Google could continue to reshape which organizations define the future of advanced AI.
