AI means that no one has to work and that you only have a job for “personal satisfaction,” says Elon Musk
“The progress of AI means that at some point no one will have to work anymore,” said Elon Musk last night.
In a fireside chat with Rishi Sunak, the tech tycoon compared AI to a “magical ghost” that performs every human role until “no job is needed anymore.”
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Speaking at Lancaster House in London, Mr Musk said people could still work “for personal satisfaction”, but rather than making money, humanity’s biggest challenge would be to find “meaning in life”.
“You can have a job if you want, for personal satisfaction, AI can do anything,” Mr. Musk told an audience of entrepreneurs and journalists.
“I don’t know if that makes people feel comfortable or uncomfortable. It’s both good and bad.”
“One of the challenges of the future will be how we find meaning in life.”
“We will not have a universal basic income, but a universal high income. This will be good for education – it will be the best tutor.”
The Prime Minister laughed sheepishly as the tech tycoon also said that robots should be safe as long as they have “an off switch”.
The Space X billionaire warned: “What if one day they get a software update and suddenly they’re not so friendly anymore?”
Mr Musk told the Prime Minister that AI had the potential to be a “great friend” that knows you better than you do.
He said one of his sons had difficulty making friends, adding: “An AI friend would be good for him.”
Musk also said that a humanoid robot would be able to “basically chase you anywhere.” Adding an off switch is crucial to prevent AI stalking.
The 52-year-old Tesla mastermind emphasized: “This is something we should be very concerned about.”
“If a robot can follow you everywhere, what if one day it gets a software update and isn’t so friendly anymore?”
Mr Sunak beamed as Mr Musk named London the second largest city behind San Francisco for AI development.
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And Mr Musk said the summit would “go down in history” because it was quite profound.
He praised Mr Sunak for inviting China as “profound”.
