Billionaire and businessman Elon Musk believes that Artificial Intelligence should be developed further. But throughout the technological progress, he was also adamant in regulating AI because of the risks it poses to humans. Recently, he even stated that AI could “most likely” be the cause of the next world war.
World War III
There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to be developed as a weapon of mass destruction. This is what Musk fears. Facebook, for example, shut down their overwhelmingly advanced robots when they started talking in a language they only understood.
But it looks like the Russian government also has an idea how powerful AI can be. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that whoever masters artificial intelligence would eventually “rule the world” by paving the way for “colossal opportunities and threats.”
Putin discussed his thoughts on AI during a lecture, speaking to more than one million students. The lecture was aptly conducted via satellite. It marked the start of the Russian school year. According to Putin, AI is the “future” of the world. Others that heard the statement expressed concern over how powerful Russia could get if they managed to master AI. Nevertheless, the leader said that they would gladly share their AI knowledge once the nation masters the technology.
Musk seemed reluctant to agree to Putin's statement by saying that AI could cause the next WWIII. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO added that nations would strive to become the most advanced when it comes to artificial intelligence, and it could even lead to war.
AI-led war
According to Musk, it won't be the leaders who will ignite a conflict but AI itself.
Today, many countries are accelerating their knowledge in computer science like China, the U.S. and Russia. Although the nuclear threat posed by North Korea worries the world, some Twitter user also expressed their concern about an AI-led WWIII.
Musk believes that if a machine decides by itself to conduct a pre-emptive strike, it is most likely to succeed.
The businessman gladly answered Twitter inquiries after he replied to an article about the Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s AI lecture.
Regulating AI
But Musk himself is not against the advancement of artificial intelligence. In fact, he even founded OpenAI, a gym for AI developers where they can train their programs. What Musk wanted is to regulate the use of AI now so that it won't be too late. Now that the Russian leader recognized the power of AI and how it could be used to rule the world, it is vital to draw the line as to what robots and machines can and cannot do.
