Renowned AI researcher Paul Christiano announced as 2026 lecturer for The Hinton Lectures

The Hinton Lectures return for a third year as artificial intelligence research and advancements accelerate globally.

TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hinton Lectures™, co-founded by Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, return to Toronto on November 9-11, 2026. The Hinton Lectures are a transformative lecture series charting the future of Artificial Intelligence, by demystifying AI for the public and providing a platform for open, accessible discussion on its future.

This year's distinguished lecturer, Paul Christiano, was an early researcher at OpenAI, where he developed reinforcement learning from human feedback.

Christiano is the founder and executive director of the Alignment Research Center, a non-profit developing methods to better understand how decisions are happening inside machine learning systems. Christiano is also Senior Technical Advisor at NIST's Center for AI Standards and Innovation, Board Member of the OpenAI Foundation and Member of the OpenAI Safety and Security Committee.

The distinguished Nominating Committee for the lecture series is comprised of Prof. Hinton; Beth Barnes, Founder & CEO of METR; Roger Grosse, Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society; and, Shane Legg, co-founder and Chief AGI Scientist at Google DeepMind. 

Hinton, Christiano, Barnes and Legg have all been recognized at least once on TIME100's most influential in AI.

The three-night lecture series hosted at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, John W. H. Bassett Theatre and broadcast online, kicks off the inaugural AI Safety Week.

The Hinton Lectures is proudly supported by Presenting Partner Manulife and by Founding Partner Global Risk Institute (GRI), whose combined support underscores the growing importance of industry leadership in the safe and ethical development of AI. TELUS rounds out this year's roster, as an evening sponsor.

"Canada helped build the foundations of modern AI," says Ankesh Chandaria, CEO of AISF.  "The pressing question now isn't what these systems can do, but what they should do and who gets to decide. Canada is a natural place to convene this vital global conversation, and we're honoured to host Paul Christiano and leading AI safety researchers to explore how increasingly capable AI can be developed and governed safely."

"Our support for The Hinton Lectures reflects Manulife's commitment to advancing the responsible use of AI," says Jodie Wallis, Global Chief AI Officer at Manulife. "As AI continues to evolve, fostering informed dialogue around its opportunities, risks and societal impact is more important than ever. The Hinton Lectures bring together leading voices from academia, industry and public policy to explore these issues thoughtfully, and we're proud to support those conversations as this year's presenting partner."

"AI is advancing rapidly, with significant implications for financial services and the safeguards needed to manage its risks. GRI recognized early the need for broader discussion of these issues," says Sonia Baxendale, President and CEO, GRI. "Through our founding partnership in the Hinton Lectures, we are helping bring leading perspectives, including Paul Christiano's, to that conversation."

"Open discussion about AI's rewards and risks is essential to building technology that is trustworthy and benefits everyone," says Pam Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer at TELUS. "TELUS is proud to support The Hinton Lectures – a world-leading forum bringing researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and the public together to ensure AI is developed and deployed responsibly, and with accountability, grounded in a human-first approach."

The 2024 lecturer was Jacob Steinhardt, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley & Founder of Transluce and the 2025 lecturer was Owain Evans, Director of Truthful AI (TIME100 in AI 2026).  

The 2026 lectures will be moderated by Canadian futurist, writer and podcaster Sínead Bovell.  Bovell is also the founder of WAYE, a tech education initiative that prepares the next generation of leaders for a future shaped by advanced technologies.

The lectures are open to the public, with access available both in-person and via livestream. Tickets are available now at hintonlectures.com.

For media inquiries or media accreditation contact Diane Begin at [email protected].

The Hinton Lectures | Media Assets

About AI Safety Foundation

The AI Safety Foundation (AISF) increases awareness and scientific understanding of the catastrophic risks of AI, by advancing education and research, to ensure a safer future for humanity.  AISF is proud to present an annual lecture series, the Hinton Lectures™, delivered by world-leading AI safety experts. aisfoundation.ai

About Global Risk Institute

The Global Risk Institute in Financial Services (GRI) is Canada's premier organization for risk management thought leadership and actionable insights. Bringing together leaders from industry, government and academia, GRI transforms global risk intelligence into practical strategies that strengthens the resilience of Canada's financial sector. globalriskinstitute.org

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Anchored in our ambition to be the number one choice for customers, we operate as Manulife across Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance and health solutions for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2025, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers with operations across 25 markets globally. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. manulife.com

Manulife's official newswire announcement, as Presenting Partner, will be live later today.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading Canadian communications technology company operating in more than 45 countries and generating over $20 billion in annual revenue with more than 17 million customer connections through our advanced suite of broadband services for consumers, businesses and the public sector. TELUS is passionate about putting our customers and communities first, leading the way globally in client service excellence and social capitalism. telus.com

SOURCE AI Safety Foundation