Opening Insights
A Wall Street Journal article written by Tim Higgins, dated July 15, 2017, quotes Elon Musk stating that "Powerful technology will threaten all human jobs, could even spark a war, Tesla CEO says."
Informational Insights
Elon Musk warned a gathering of U.S. governors that they need to be concerned about the potential dangers from the rise of artificial intelligence and called for the creation of a regulatory body to guide development of the powerful technology.
Speaking Saturday at the National Governors Association meeting in Rhode Island, the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla Inc. and rocket-maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. laid out several worst-case scenarios for AI, saying that the technology will threaten all human jobs and that an AI could even spark a war. “It is the biggest risk that we face as a civilization,” he said.
Mr. Musk has been vocal about his concerns about AI and helped create OpenAI, a nonprofit research group that aims for the safe development of the technology. He suggested to the governors that a regulatory agency needs to be formed to begin gaining insight into fast-moving AI development followed by putting regulations into place.
“Right now the government doesn’t even have insight,” he said. “Once there is awareness people will be extremely afraid, as they should be.”
Proponents of AI say such concerns are premature, given the current state of the technology. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who said that he has spent his own career trying to reduce government regulations, questioned Mr. Musk over the suggestion of creating new rules, saying he was unsure what policy makers could do beyond pushing for a slowdown in development...
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-warns-nations-governors-of-looming-ai-threat-calls-for-regulations-1500154345
Possibilities for Consideration
- What if there is a way to comfortably and gently wake people up to the dangers of AI?
- What if there is a way to support AI development ethically and with real social cultural responsibility?
- What if there is a way to use AI to support people and humanity rather than replace it?
Add Your Insight
When intelligent machines are constructed,
we should not be surprised to find them as confused and as stubborn as men
in their convictions about mind-matter, consciousness, free will, and the like.
MARVIN MINSKY