Credit: Art Streiber/August Image
Brianna Blaschke | True Activist
Elon Musk’s contributions to society know no bounds: his latest scheme is intended to save humanity from being destroyed by artificial intelligence (AI).
The billionaire, known for garnering a massive amount of wealth and attention with his revolutionary projects of PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX, has consistently warned against AI, recently calling it humanity’s greatest existential threat.
His belief of the detriment AI may cause has led him to pool forces with other well-known tech entrepreneurs to establish an investment fund intended for researchers to pursue actions with a positive social impact. The $1 billion fund is slated to assist humans in staying at least one step ahead of technology.
According to a statement released by the group of investors, AI’s surprising history makes it difficult to “predict when human-level AI might come within reach”. The statement continued on to advise, “When it does, it’ll be important to have a leading research institution which can prioritize a good outcome for all over its own self-interest.”
The debate within the technology world over the threats and benefits provided by rapid advances in computer intelligence is a long-standing one, with questions of whether or not legislation should be implemented to act as safeguards. A total moratorium on research has been contested as well, particularly as the scientific and technology worlds are arguably capable of advancing to the point of superseding humans. It is a very likely possibility that we may become redundant, unnecessary, and, thus, expendable.
Scientists postulate that eventually AI systems will be able to intercommunicate exclusively among themselves, controlling entire transport networks and even national economies.