Agree :-) Hinton's comment was meant as, and is, an educated guess, expressed as a belief -- much like expressing belief that P≠NP, say, or that string theory

Agree :-) Hinton's comment was meant as, and is, an educated guess, expressed as a belief -- much like expressing belief that P≠NP, say, or that string theory will prove to be a dead end in Physics. FWIW, I happen to agree with Hinton, but only time will tell if we're right!