When it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Elon Musk has a name for treating it like some aliens’ attack or God’s wrath upon us, even without an exaggeration. Speaking at MIT in 2014, he called AI humanity’s “biggest existential threat”. He also compared it to “summoning the demon.” He is very optimistic about all other technologies. Like neurotechnology, self-driving cars, Mars colonization, and others. But AI always seems to scare him. We wonder if it is something so dreadful as he shares in his Artificial Intelligence Predictions.

Elon Musk AI Predictions

Let us talk about AI Predictions and Warnings by Elon Musk that he has said in the past years, and sees if they are convincing enough.

Elon Musk AI

AI will cause WW3

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the nations that lead in AI would rule the world. Musk not only agrees but takes it one level further by warning and saying that it will be a reason for World War III. He wrote on Twitter:

China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at the national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.

AI, if not regulated, will end human life

At the National Governors Association held in July, Musk expressed his fears of AI by saying:

I have exposure to the most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned by it. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs or bad food were not — they were harmful to a set of individuals within society, of course, but they were not harmful to society as a whole.

He has been giving ai warnings countless times. Artificial Intelligence and its advancement should be regulated by a government authority with a good insight into the subject. Otherwise, the rate at which AI is growing will soon result in humans being slaves to robots. He suggests a proper mechanism for this in his interview with Recode’s Kara Swisher:

My recommendation for the longest time has been consistent. I think we ought to have a government committee that starts off with insight, gaining insight. Spends a year or two gaining insight about AI or other technologies that are maybe dangerous, but especially AI. And then, based on that insight, comes up with rules in consultation with industry that give the highest probability for a safe advent of AI.

Smart robots will destroy “all” jobs

Elon Musk has a very strong viewpoint about AI taking jobs. He agrees with those who say it will make humans jobless. The billionaire entrepreneur said at NGA:

There certainly will be job disruption. Because what’s going to happen is robots will be able to do everything better than us. … I mean all of us.

No job is safe, and AI and Robots will eventually take everything.

See  Why Do We Need Robots More Than Ever Today?

But when it comes to the order in which the jobs will be lost, he says transportation jobs are the first ones.

Transport will be one of the first to go fully autonomous. But when I say everything — the robots will be able to do everything, bar nothing.

Whenever he talks about any topic and it is harmful. He always has a solution to present, but to our astonishment, he has nothing to say in this regard. Elon musk quotes on ai by saying:

Yeah, I am not sure exactly what to do about this. This is really the scariest problem to me, I will tell you.

AI will grow exponentially in the coming years

In an article about “The Artificial Intelligence Revolution” on Twitter. Elon musk’s prediction shares that the advancement of AI will be extraordinary in the coming years. The Tesla Owner has been seen reassuring the same on countless occasions. But he never forgets to bring warnings about AI. He worries that AI’s development will outpace our ability to manage it securely. Speaking at the South by Southwest tech conference 2018 in Austin, he said:

So the rate of improvement is really dramatic. We have to figure out some way to ensure that the advent of digital super intelligence is one that is symbiotic with humanity. I think that is the single biggest existential crisis that we face and the most pressing one.

Governments will ‘force’ companies to handover AI tech

In 2017, a Musk follower on Twitter suggested that global governments were actually lacking in the adequate knowledge to develop strong AI and so it will become a corporation with private militias that will lead the way in the future. Yet, Musk replied in the negative, said:
Govts don’t need to follow normal laws. They will obtain AI developed by companies at gunpoint, if necessary.
So if this is anything to go by, we’re in for a world where private property will tend to lose any & all meaning.

Humanity is a kind of ‘Biological Boot Loader’ for AI

In an interview last year, Musk amplified his concern for AI’s takeover by mentioning how humans were ‘subjects’ for AI to learn about and move ahead from. He compares our ongoing interest in studying chimpanzees to understand their lifeform and intelligence and suggests that AI will do the same, albeit we will be the chimpanzees. His assumption thus is that with time, humans will be the ‘alien’ subject in the environment and so controlled by the AI.

We’re in a simulation

At a 2016 event, one of Elon Musk AI Predictions claimed that the world is on a particular trajectory at the moment which has helped create video games that are quite indistinguishable from reality, which means that our reality is base on a multitude of others. He goes on to suggest that the only way to distinguish the simulation and find out what’s “outside” would be by asking a “human-level AI”.
 
If Musk’s words are anything to go by, we’re in a simulation that only the AI has any knowledge of. Great.

AI can control our brains

Well, that’s not exactly what Musk suggested; instead, his viewpoint was that in a few years’ humans will be able to ‘connect’ to computers and use their power to enhance their intelligence levels. This follows the chimpanzee example whereby humans can be ‘trained’ by computers to have better control over their intelligence levels and improve brain cognition. This, he claims, isn’t something new since over time our brains have created a digital tertiary layer due to the excessive use of our phones, computers, and even our watches. So our cognition has to a certain degree prepared itself for the future, it seems.
 
Elon Musk’s predictions on AI paint a rather bleak future for the rise of Artificial Intelligence. One thing is for certain; there will always be two sides to the story so while AI might revolutionize the world for years to come, one cannot do away with the fact that it will also come to some harm. If the past is anything to go by, then regulation will increase as technology takes center stage which is an indication of somewhat controlled growth. So, the predictions & demands laid out by Musk aren’t as foreign as some might state them to be; the rest we leave up to time.

Conclusion:

Elon Musk AI predictions show that he doesn’t see much good in the coming age of Artificial Intelligence. We have seen both positive and negative effects of technology till now and will surely continue to see. As a particular technology grows, its regulation systems grow too and it stays under human control. So it doesn’t seem like these artificial intelligence predictions demand for regulation of AI is a foreign one. Rest, we can just wait for time to confirm.

Discover more Artificial Intelligence Predictions By The Big Names in Tech

x