Elon Musk’s chilling warning about “unfriendly” AI robots that can stalk unwitting people and must have an off switch
ELON Musk asked Rishi Sunak for six last night, saying people will have AI mates but don’t need jobs.
And the Prime Minister laughed sheepishly when the tech tycoon said robots should be safe as long as they have “an off switch”.
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The Space X billionaire warned: “What if one day they get a software update and suddenly they’re not so friendly anymore?”
After the world’s first AI summit in Milton Keynes, they had a nerdy fireside chat.
Musk told the prime minister that AI has 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 later pressed the Twitter mogul on the danger of people losing their jobs to AI.
In a quiet voice, Musk said: “I think we are looking at the most disruptive force in history.
“There will come a time when a job will no longer be needed.
“You can have a job if you want a job, for personal satisfaction, but AI can do everything.”
He added that a future “challenge” would be to find “meaning in life.”
Mr Sunak beamed as Musk named London the second largest city behind San Francisco for AI development.
And Musk said the summit would “go down in history” because it was pretty profound.
He praised Mr Sunak for inviting China as “profound”.