Speaking about AI's potential to disrupt civilization, Musk said, "Anyone who thinks the risk is 0% is an idiot."
While tech giants around the world are working on the idea of generating artificial intelligence (AI) to help humans in their daily lives, some believe the risk of emerging technologies going rogue remains looming. With this possibility in mind, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk reminded people of AI’s potential to destroy civilization.
Musk's plans to create a new AI startup surfaced on March 15 after the entrepreneur reportedly assembled a team of AI researchers and engineers. However, Musk went on to highlight the disruptive potential of AI - just like any other technology - if it falls into the wrong hands or is developed with malicious intent.
According to Musk, AI could be dangerous. In an interview with FOX, he said AI could be more dangerous than poorly managed aircraft design or production maintenance, for example. While acknowledging that the likelihood is small, he said:
"No matter how unlikely one thinks it is, it's not trivial - it has the potential to destroy civilization."
As Crypto Twitter began to discuss, Musk then strongly backed up his statement:
“Anyone who thinks the risk is 0% is an idiot.”
On the other hand, tech entrepreneurs like Bill Gates remain more optimistic about artificial intelligence and its positive impact on humanity.