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On 2026-05-11, Gary Marcus replied to Geoffrey Hinton, explicitly denying he ever…

2026-05-11 · 21:17 UTC ·@GaryMarcus ·0 min read

Brief

Gary Marcus, replying to Geoffrey Hinton on May 11, 2026, rejects Hinton’s characterization that Marcus said AI systems “JUST regurgitate,” stating he never made that claim. He accepts that models sometimes regurgitate (calling the evidence overwhelming), distinguishes regurgitation from hallucinations (which he’s warned about since 2001), and notes he cannot source Hinton’s alleged quote beyond Hinton’s webpage, promising further comment.

Why it matters

On 2026-05-11, Gary Marcus replied to Geoffrey Hinton, explicitly denying he ever said AI systems “JUST regurgitate” and insisting that claim is false.

Key details

  • Marcus concedes AI systems sometimes regurgitate and calls the evidence for that “overwhelming,” but distinguishes regurgitation from hallucinations and says he has warned about hallucinations since 2001.
  • Marcus says he cannot find Hinton’s alleged quote outside Hinton’s own webpage and promises to discuss Hinton’s reply and the alleged quote in a further reply.
Source evidence

reply to Hinton’s reply to me, for additional context:

Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus)

Dear @geoffreyhinton,

I literally never said that AI systems “JUST regurgitate”; that’s plainly false. I don’t believe it, and I didn’t say it. (They do sometimes regurgitate, and the evidence for that is overwhelming.)

I further discuss the rest of your reply, including your alleged quote (which I can’t source outside your own webpage), and what it might mean, in a reply below.

In the best case, you have got me wrong. I certainly don’t believe what you are trying to pin me, as someone who was been warning about hallucinations (which are NOT regurgitations) since 2001.

— https://nitter.net/GaryMarcus/status/2053931912805372387#m