(London) Elon Musk predicted Thursday that the future of artificial intelligence (AI) would be an “age of abundance”, with a “universal high income” rather than a universal basic income, but warned that ” humanoid robots” could hunt humans.
The SpaceX and Tesla owner was speaking in conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the first global AI summit at Bletchley Park, UK.
He said there would come a time when “no work is necessary”, during a face-to-face meeting with Mr Sunak later in London.
PHOTO KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk
Jobs instead would only be for those who wanted one for “personal satisfaction”, he added.
AI was like “a magical genie” that makes all your wishes come true, Elon Musk said, while recalling that these fairy tales rarely end well.
One of the future challenges is how to find meaning in life.
Elon Musk
According to him “we should be very concerned” about humanoid robots which “can follow you anywhere”.
And “what happens if it one day gets a software update and it’s not so friendly anymore?” asked Mr. Musk.
The technology billionaire thus underlined the importance of having a physical switch.
Rishi Sunak responded that “we’ve all watched” movies about robots that end with the machines turned off.
The two-day gathering at Bletchley ended on Thursday with Western governments and companies involved agreeing to a new security testing regime, in what is being called the next generation “frontier” of HAVE.
Not broadcast live, this Musk-Sunak exchange will be shared on X later.