By Sterling Mosley. Media: DC Enquirer.
Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author’s opinion.
On Monday night, Tucker Carlson showed his millions of viewers a recent interview he conducted with billionaire Elon Musk. Amongst the most pressing topics was the role of AI in society which Musk deems a threat to human civilization.
Musk said that he has been thinking about AI since he was in college but that it has gotten away from him. He explained that it is difficult to predict what will happen once AI becomes smarter than humans, saying that “we should be cautious with AI and I think there should be some government oversight because it’s a danger to the public.”
Musk went on to cite the FDA and the FCC which oversee aspects of public life that could lead to public harm to consumers. Musk said that he has been a strong advocate of AI regulation but he added that it is arduous and “not fun” to be regulated given his ample experience in dealing with government regulation.
“We should take this seriously and we should have a regulatory agency,” he said, adding that the regulators should seek insights into AI and work with industry insiders to develop rules for the industry.
When asked what the potential dangers are with AI, the billionaire explained that AI is more dangerous than mismanaged aircraft design or car production saying that AI has the potential of “civilizational destruction.”
He went on to state that regulations are often put into effect after something bad happens, but he explained that it could be too late to regulate the industry before AI takes over.
Musk went on to explain that AI could eventually be used to make decisions for humans. Musk also gave insight into his early days with AI in discussing safety protocols where he explained that he was called a “speciest” because he wanted to protect humanity.
Musk emphasized that a super-intelligent AI that can write well combined with social media use can lead to the influencing of public opinion by AI. Musk said “How would we even know” if AI was influencing the situation?