What you need to know
- During an award ceremony, Elon Musk listed making life multi-planetary as one of the greatest breakthroughs he hopes for in this lifetime.
- The billionaire also considers AI as the biggest technological revolution, however, it poses several challenges, including becoming smarter than humans, lack of sufficient power, and a 99.9# chance of the technology ending humanity.
- Musk says there’s no AI capable of telling the absolute truth, while listing truthfulness and curiosity among the key factors that should be considered during training.
Elon Musk recently appeared at the 10th annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony (Oscars of Science) held in Los Angeles, where he shared some of his insights regarding AI and its advancements.
While on the red carpet during the award ceremony, a Youtuber reached out to Musk and asked him what was the greatest breakthrough he was hoping for in this lifetime. Musk indicated that making life multi-planetary would be impressive (via TESLARATI).
Additionally, he mentioned the possibility of generative AI becoming smarter than humans, ultimately making any invention possible. However, he warned there’s a slight chance AI would lead to the end of humanity. Interestingly, Musk had previously shared the same sentiments but indicated the technology should be explored despite inevitable doom.
Musk further indicated the importance of ensuring that AI is truthful and curious enough during the training process. He pointed out the importance of AI being honest, regardless of whether whatever it says is unpopular. This way, it’ll be able to “foster humanity.”
The billionaire used Galileo Galilei’s astronomical findings as the basis for his argument. He recapped the events leading up to and after Galileo indicated that the Earth revolves around the sun. Musk further stated that the astronomer was branded a ‘heretic’ and forced to recant his findings with execution threats.
Musk says if AI was present and being trained at the time, it would’ve said that the sun revolves around the Earth because that’s what everyone believed. He added that the technology wouldn’t have told the truth despite knowing the Earth revolves around the sun. He concluded the interview by stating there’s no AI capable of telling the truth yet, especially if unpopular among people.
AI for president in 2032?!
While speaking to Variety, Musk jokingly indicated that AI could win the Presidential election in 2032 when asked about the forthcoming election.
Who will win the U.S. presidential election in 2024? Elon Musk weighs in from the carpet at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. pic.twitter.com/qnw8k5jHVyApril 14, 2024
AI-powered chatbots like Microsoft Copilot have been spotted generating false information regarding elections. Microsoft has already highlighted its plan to protect the impending election’s integrity from AI deepfakes. It also intends to empower voters with authoritative and factual election news via its AI-powered search engine, Bing.
The billionaire has previously shared a couple of theories regarding generative AI. He recently indicated we’re on the verge of the “biggest technology revolution” with AI. However, the lack of sufficient electricity to power might deter this dream from becoming a reality by 2025.
Musk’s claims align with a study that revealed ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot would have consumed enough electricity to power a small country for a whole year by 2027. We already know generative AI is resource-hungry and even demands one water bottle for cooling per query.
