Elon Musk Warns That AI Could Destroy Humans
Elon Musk believes that highly likely that artificial intelligence (AI) could be the end of humanity. The Tesla founder says he is concerned that a handful of major companies will end up in control of AI systems giving them "extreme" levels of power.
Musk currently owns two companies working on AI technology: Neuralink and OpenAI. Neuralink is working on ways to implant technology into human brains in order to create mind-computer interfaces while OpenAI is a nonprofit seeking to minimize the dangers that AI technology poses on humans as a species.
It is the latter company that, Musk hopes, will prevent the world from becoming a real-life "Terminator" film. However, being a non-profit, OpenAI has the cards stacked against it as Musk himself lays down the odds of his mission to make AI safe.
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"Maybe there's a five to 10 percent chance of success," he said after showing his Neuralink staff a documentary on AI. He has also called for the companies working on the technology to slow down to ensure they don't unintentionally build something unsafe.
"Between Facebook, Google and Amazon – and arguably Apple, but they seem to care about privacy – they have more information about you than you can remember," told Rolling Stone. "There's a lot of risk in concentration of power. So if AGI (artificial general intelligence) represents an extreme level of power, should that be controlled by a few people at Google with no oversight?"
It is for this reason that he has also invested in Google's DeepMind. Musk told OpenAI that he made the move with the intention of keeping a watchful eye on Google's AI development.
Musk's views on AI are shared by world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking who is also concerned that artificial intelligence could replace humans. He fears that someone will one day create AI that will keep improving itself until it's eventually superior to people.
"I fear that AI may replace humans altogether," he said in an interview with Wired magazine. "If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans."
It's definitely unsettling to think that humans as a species will one day be replaced by their own creations. Perhaps, Musk's views on AI can be summarized in the immortal words of Jeff Goldblum's character Dr. Ian Malcolm, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
