Elon Musk Warns of Potential AI Threat to Humanity at UK Summit.
London: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and ‘X’ owner, issued a cautionary statement on Wednesday during his participation in the world’s first global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit hosted by the United Kingdom.
Musk expressed his concerns about the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence, suggesting that it could pose a threat to human civilization.
He stated, “There is some chance, above zero, that AI will kill us all. I think it’s slow but there is some chance. I think this also concerns the fragility of human civilization. If you study history, you will realize that every civilization has a sort of lifespan.”
Musk’s remarks came during a media interaction at the summit, where he engaged in discussions with fellow participants regarding the safety of AI.
The previous day, Musk appeared on comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast and raised concerns about the programming of AI by individuals in the “environmental movement,” suggesting that it might lead to the extinction of humanity.
He explained, “Actually, what I think the biggest danger is for AI is that if AI is implicitly programmed, I don’t think they explicitly but implicitly programmed with values that led to the destruction of downtown San Francisco. And a bunch of these AI companies are in San Francisco or the San Francisco Bay Area. Then you could implicitly program an AI to believe that extinction of humanity is what it should try to do.”
Musk emphasized the need for careful programming of AI to ensure it does not become inadvertently antihuman.
The ongoing AI Safety Summit in the UK serves as a platform for governments, academia, and AI companies to discuss and identify the risks, opportunities, and importance of international collaboration in the AI sector. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to have a live conversation with Elon Musk after the summit.
The summit is designed to highlight the transformative benefits of AI technology, with a focus on education and international research collaborations. It aims to address risks, including potential threats to national security and the loss of control over AI technology, which could impact society, including issues such as election disruption and erosion of social trust.
The United Kingdom has a thriving AI sector, employing over 50,000 people and contributing 3.7 billion pounds annually to its economy.
The summit will gather experts from various organizations, including The Alan Turing Institute, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Ada Lovelace Institute.
Musk’s remarks have brought attention to the potential challenges posed by AI and the need for careful and ethical development of artificial intelligence systems.
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