Key Takeaways:
Billionaire entrepreneur and tech mogul Elon Musk made some stunning revelations about his stance on artificial intelligence during the Viva Tech event in Paris on Thursday.
While making a remote appearance at the summit, Musk was asked what his thoughts were on AI taking over human jobs and what solutions he could provide to solve the problem.
In his response, the CEOs of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and Neuralink pointed out a “benign scenario” where probably no one was going to have a job. However, it was the second part of his answer that surprised the crowd.
The Future of Human Employment is Optional, Says Elon Musk
Musk said that he envisions a future where human employment becomes an option, suggesting that AI-powered robots would fulfill a vast majority of job positions, leaving individuals to pursue a career as a ‘hobby’.
AI and robots will be capable enough to provide any goods and services that the people want, he added.
During his hour-long keynote speech, the 52-year-old forecasted a future with universal high income (UHI), while clarifying that it should not be confused with universal basic income (UBI), which is a social welfare program where all citizens or residents of a country receive an unconditional sum of money from the government regularly, regardless of their economic status.
AI Advancements Could Improve the Economic Conditions of Humans All Over the World
UHI is a concept that builds upon the idea of a universal basic income, with the key difference being that the amount provided to the population in this regard is high enough to significantly improve their standard of living.
The core premise of UHI is that as AI and automation sectors advance, it will create a scenario where the cost of producing goods and services is reduced drastically. This could lead to a deflationary economic environment where the cost savings are passed on to consumers, ensuring that basic necessities are affordable for everyone.
UHI could provide an income level that is sufficient to lift people out of poverty, enabling them to live comfortably without the need to find work.
Musk said there is an 80% chance that advances made in AI will result in a situation where humans will not need to find a job to have all that they need. The owner of X also pointed out that the real question is whether human life would have any meaning when robots and computers do a better job.
“That really will be the question in that benign scenario, and in the negative scenario, all bets are off where we’re in deep trouble”, he said.
Musk Presses on the Importance of Developing Transparent and Truthful AI
Musk emphasized that with AI technology advancing rapidly, there would be no shortage of goods or services. He reiterated the importance of developing maximally truth-seeking and curious AI programs that work to benefit human beings.
The SpaceX co-founder expressed concerns about major AI programs being trained to be politically correct rather than seeking truth. He stressed the need for training AI systems to be honest and transparent, suggesting that humans could give AI meaning instead of going the other way.
Musk’s position on AI is nothing new. He has always been concerned about the rapid advancements in the field, sometimes referring to it as his “biggest fear”. During a sit-down with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the inaugural AI Safety Summit in London last year, he noted that the world was witnessing the most disruptive force in history.
Elon Musk Shows Video of Neuralink Subject Controlling a Cursor With Their Thoughts
Musk also took the time to share with the crowd gathered for his keynote at the tech and startup summit the advancements made by Nueralink – a neural technology company founded by the billionaire that is developing an implantable brain-to-computer interface (BCI).
He showed a video of a clinical trial patient implanted with the BCI chip moving a cursor on the screen by just thinking. Musk explained that with the ‘Link’, as the device is called, almost any brain or spinal injury could be addressed.
The Neuralink founder said the company’s first product, Telepathy, enables people to use their phones or computers by thinking, while the second product, called Blindsight, enables people who have lost their vision to perceive their surroundings with the optical processing areas of the brain.
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