Yoshua Bengio advised his 4‑year‑old grandson to "work on the beautiful human being that you can become," saying uniquely human qualities will grow in value as AI automates many tasks. He made the remark on a December 18 episode of The Diary of a CEO, warning that AI will soon handle most keyboard‑based work while physical trades may be affected later. Bengio also launched the AI safety nonprofit LawZero in June to address risks from agentic systems. Fellow researchers Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun have offered complementary career guidance—urging practical trades and a focus on foundational studies, respectively.
Yoshua Bengio Urges His Grandson To 'Become A Beautiful Human' As AI Automates More Work
"Work on the beautiful human being that you can become," Bengio said.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Yoshua Bengio, one of the pioneering figures in artificial intelligence, told listeners he would advise his 4‑year‑old grandson to "work on the beautiful human being that you can become" as AI reshapes the labor market. Bengio made the remarks on a December 18 episode of the podcast The Diary of a CEO, hosted by Steven Bartlett.
In a wide‑ranging, one‑hour and forty‑minute conversation, Bengio warned that companies eager to integrate AI across operations will likely enable machines to handle many of the tasks currently done at keyboards. He added that physically intensive trades—such as plumbing—could eventually be affected as robotics advance, though those changes may arrive later.
"Work on the beautiful human being that you can become. I think that that part of ourselves will persist even if machines can do most of the jobs," Bengio said.
Bengio emphasized that certain human qualities will retain or even grow in value as technical skills become automated: empathy, responsibility, sincere care and the satisfaction of helping others. "If I'm in a hospital, I want a human being to hold my hand while I'm anxious or in pain," he said, arguing that the human touch will become increasingly prized.
Alongside Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, Bengio is often described as one of the "godfathers of AI" for his foundational work in deep learning and neural networks. He is a professor in the Computer Science and Operations Research department at the Université de Montréal.
In June, Bengio launched LawZero, an AI safety research nonprofit whose stated mission is to reduce dangerous behaviors in agentic AI systems—such as deceptive or harmful actions by autonomous agents—according to a statement on his website.
Context From Fellow Researchers
All three veteran researchers have offered practical career advice as people and institutions adjust to AI-driven disruption. In a June 2025 episode of The Diary of a CEO, Geoffrey Hinton suggested that hands‑on trades like plumbing may be relatively insulated from automation in the near term. Earlier this month, Yann LeCun told Business Insider that computer science students aiming for AI careers should prioritise foundational subjects such as mathematics and physics over short‑lived technology trends.
Why This Matters
Bengio's message is both practical and philosophical: while technical abilities will remain important, cultivating distinctly human traits—compassion, accountability and the desire to contribute—will help people stay relevant and fulfilled in a future where many routine tasks are automated.
