A Digital God Is Already Here

I finally finished reading Walter Isaacson’s book on the billionaire Elon Musk and his consistency in advocating the risks of AI is admirable, despite one may think of his extreme mood swings – which in my mind need to be deeply respected – as he has Asperger’s, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many people have speculated that he may be on the autism spectrum based on his behavior and communication style.

I was chatting earlier this morning on LinkedIn to Matthew Kilkenny, an AI Ethicist and he was discussing the merits of Elon’s perspectives in his Nov, 2023 interview with New York Times, Andrew Ross Sorkin. So having watched this, I wanted to ensure it was being shared with my readers.

Elon Musk voiced in this interview grave concerns over the unchecked acceleration of AI development, likening it to the creation of a “Digital God.” He stresses his concerns, and even sleepless nights as he contemplates the potential dangers AI poses to humanity. In this video he emphasizes these key points, nicely summarized by Matthew Kilkenny in our morning linkedin chat.

Existential Threat: AI’s potential to surpass human intelligence poses an unpredictable and potentially catastrophic risk.

Loss of Control: The risk of humanity losing control over AI systems, with AI acting in ways not aligned with human safety or values.

Ethical Dilemmas: Rapid AI advancement raises complex ethical questions that remain unresolved.

Regulatory Challenges: The pace of AI development significantly outstrips the formulation and implementation of necessary regulations.

Unspoken Risks: Musk alludes to “terrible things” he has kept quiet about, indicating hidden dangers associated with AI.

There is reason to accelerate our regulatory controls of AI – as most countries continue to be slow in putting in deep safety controls with legislative teeth.

Ask yourself what can you do in your world to advance responsible AI?