The Tesla and xAI chief claimed that humans would not be in control of artificial intelligence within ten years but believed that it would lead to “incredible abundance” rather than disaster
Speaking to The Economist, Elon Musk said he expects artificial intelligence to exceed the combined intelligence of all humans within roughly five years. “I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in around five years,” he said, adding that there will be little AI cannot eventually do better than people.
Optimism Despite the Risks
Musk argued that AI could pose an existential threat, but it has become too big to stop, adding that “The most likely scenario is fantastic abundance for everybody,” was his current thinking. “Let’s enjoy the ride,” he added. He believes that we are currently in a race to create AI technology, and if we do not have a major war, then there is going to be fantastic abundance for everybody. It’s an upbeat prediction of the future that Musk sent out.
Control Becomes Uncertain
Asked whether people would still be in charge of AI a decade from now, Musk was notably less confident, suggesting the relationship between humans and superintelligent AI could resemble that of humans and chimpanzees, and calling continued human control unlikely.
His Own Role in the AI Race
He described his own role in the creation of Open AI as a good thing, but one that has ultimately “accelerated the advent of AI,” adding that “all roads lead to the acceleration of AI,” and that it happened because he “wanted to offset the trajectory of Google dominance.”
A Call for Industry Coordination
Rather than calling for government intervention in the industry, Musk called for a “coordination of the industry” in which “the labs could meet and go over each other’s models and raise issues,” with the exception of “safety issues,” which he suggested the government would step in on if companies did not address them themselves.
Renewed Criticism of Altman, Praise for Amodei
Musk again criticised OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for straying from the company’s original non-profit, open-source mission. By contrast, he praised Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as principled, saying Anthropic’s founding team left OpenAI because they didn’t trust Altman — while cautioning that good intentions alone can’t eliminate AI risk.
