Elon Musk is sounding the alarm again about the dangers posed to humanity by AI, warning that more has to be done to limit its development or risk sleepwalking into a disaster.
Speaking in Paris at the Viva Tech conference, Musk warned that regulations were needed to prevent artificial intelligence from morphing into something that can't be controlled. This, the Tesla founder said, could result in a “catastrophic outcome” for humanity.
“I think there's a real danger for digital super intelligence having negative consequences,” said Musk.
Musk’s warning echoes one he sounded in in an online petition he signed with over a 1,000 other technologists and researchers in March. The signatories warned that unchecked AI systems with competitive human intelligence would pose “catastrophic risks to society,” and called on OpenAI to pause further development of its artificial tool ChatGPT.
Elon Musk Warns AI Could ‘Disarm Humanity’ to Achieve World Peace
AI's not all bad, right? Besides total annihilation, Musk offered another vision: the potential for AI to take a self-appointed role as a global peacekeeper or, as he phrased it, become our "uber nanny." This hypothetical AI would prioritize human safety by assuming control of all computing and weapon systems on Earth. "One way to achieve world peace is to take all the weapons away from the humans so they can no longer use them," Musk said during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "I don...
Short of a voluntary halt, the authors called on governments to force a moratorium if the company does not pause development. Musk repeated this at Viva Tech, reiterating his support for regulation because of the risks it poses to the public.
As a whole, Musk predicted that AI would “most likely” bring positive outcomes, including ushering in an “age of abundance” in terms of access to goods and services. But, he said, this should not be taken as a given.
"That's not every possible outcome," said Musk. "We need to minimize the probability that something will go wrong with digital super intelligence."
Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak Urge OpenAI to Halt ChatGPT Upgrades
A group of prominent technologists, researchers, and other influencers are calling on OpenAI to hit the pause button on training its artificial tool, ChatGPT. Top AI figures—including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Andrew Yang—have apparently signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on developing AI systems more potent than GPT-4, the current version of the generative tool that first launched in November 2022. In the letter, authors assert that if the private company fails to stop trai...
Warning against the risks of AI was only one part of Musk's appearance in Paris. It came as part of a wider expression of his vision for the future and his “core philosophy” around discovering the “meaning of life.” He connected this quest to his advocacy for sustainable energy to ward off global climate change, and expanding the possibilities for space exploration through his company SpaceX.
Asked how Twitter fit in with this framework, Musk again asserted that his purchase was motivated by a desire to preserve free-speech and steer it into being a “positive force for civilization.” In May, Musk stepped down as CEO in favor of former NBC executive Linda Yaccarino, but he will remain Twitter’s owner.
