Multibillionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk made his mark at the Viva Technology Conference in Paris yesterday.
At the conference, an audience member asked Musk whether “Artificial intelligence will replace him one day”, and Musk’s answer was quite interesting. Here is Musk’s answer…
Elon Musk’s dystopian vision of artificial intelligence on the agenda
Elon Musk foresees a scenario where artificial intelligence could put people out of work and provide “universal high income” in the future. In this scenario, money and jobs will not be a problem, but people will face a lack of purpose and existential problems. Musk thinks that AI could work like our cortex (our thoughts) trying to satisfy the human limbic system (our emotions) and that humans could give meaning and purpose to AI. Do you realize how tragic such a scenario would be?
For me, Musk’s vision has both utopian and dystopian elements. While a world with universal high incomes and no unemployment is appealing, a future where people will struggle with a lack of purpose and existential problems is very worrying. The idea of artificial intelligence evolving to try to predict human emotions is also frightening. But it is already happening today. OpenAI introduced many AI models and tools as part of its Spring Update. So much so that some AI models can understand your emotions by looking at your face or by the tone of your voice.
Later in the conference, Musk did not answer questions from CNBC and Business Insider reporters. Not only that, he interrupted the Business Insider reporter’s question and did not listen.
Musk’s prediction may get people thinking about the future of artificial intelligence. However, it is debatable how realistic the prediction is.
Featured image credit: indrajit07 / Pixabay
