Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk were recently discussing the possible dangers of AI, mainly focusing on AI safety and the unchecked growth of advanced AI systems. Elon Musk expressed his concerns about AI safety, pointing out that AI could end up taking control and making irreversible decisions for us.
Musk also mentioned his talks with Google co-founder Larry Page, and he feels that Page isn’t giving AI safety the attention it deserves. He’s worried about Google and DeepMind having so much AI talent and resources, but maybe not prioritizing safety enough. In response to these concerns, Musk played a key role in creating OpenAI, which started as a non-profit organization emphasizing transparency and openness. Interestingly, OpenAI is now for-profit and they’re the ones responsible for Chat GPT.
CARLSON: Do you think that’s real? It is conceivable that AI could take control and reach a point where you couldn’t turn it off and it would be making decisions for people?
MUSK: Yeah. Absolutely.
CARLSON: Absolutely?
MUSK: No, that’s definitely the way things are headed, for sure.
I mean, things like say, Chat GPT which is based on GP4 from Open AI which is a company I played a critical role in creating, unfortunately —
CARLSON: Back when it was a non-profit.
MUSK: Yes. Um, I mean, the reason Open AI exists at all is that [Google co-founder] Larry Page and I used to be close friends and I would stay at his house in Palo Alto and I would talk to him late in the night about AI safety. At least my perception was that Larry was not taking AI safety seriously enough. And —
CARLSON: What did he say about it?
MUSK: He really seemed to be — wanted sort of digital superintelligence, basically a digital god, if you will, as soon as possible.
CARLSON: Hey wanted that?
MUSK: Yes. He’s made many public statements ever the years, the whole goal of Google is what’s called AGI, artificial general intelligence, or artificial superintelligence. I agree there’s great potential for good, but there’s also potential for bad. If you’ve got some radical new technology you want to try to take a set of actions, maximize the probability it will do good, minimize probably it will do bad things.
CARLSON: Yes.
MUSK: It can’t just be barreling forwarding and you know, hope for the best. And then at one point, I said what about, you know, we gonna make sure humanity’s okay here. [Laughter]
And, um, and then he called me a specist.
CARLSON: Did he use that term?
MUSK: Yes. And there were witnesses. I wasn’t the only one there when he called me a specist. And so, I was like okay, that’s it. Yes, I’m a specist, okay. You got me. What are you? Yeah, I’m fully a specist. Busted.
So that was his last straw. At the time Google had acquired DeepMind so Google and DeepMind together had about three-quarters of all the AI talent in the world. They obviously had a lot of money and more computers than anyone else. We’re in a uni-polar world here where there’s one company that has close to a monopoly on AI talent and computers, like scaled computing, and the person who’s in charge doesn’t seem to care about safety. This is not good. So, then I thought what’s the furthest thing from Google would be like a non-profit that is fully open. Because Google was closed and for-profit. So that’s why the ‘open’ in Open AI refers to open source. You know, transparency so people know what’s going on.
CARLSON: Yes.
MUSK: We don’t want to have — I’m normally in favor of for-profit. We don’t want this to be sort of a profit-maximizing demon from hell that just never stops.
[LAUGHTER]
CARLSON: You want specist incentives here.
MUSK: Yes. We want pro-human to spite the future for humans. Because we’re humans.
CARLSON: Just for people who haven’t thought this through and aren’t familiar with it, and the cool parts of artificial intelligence are so obvious, write your college paper for you, write a limerick about yourself. There’s a lot there that is fun and useful. But can you be more precise about what’s potentially dangerous and scary? Like, what could it do? What specifically are you worried about?
MUSK: It goes without saying, the pen is mightier than the sword. So, if you have a super intelligent AI that is capable of writing incredibly well and in a way that is very influential, you know, convincing, and is constantly figuring out what is more convincing to people over time. And then enter social media, for example, Twitter, but also Facebook and others, you know, and potentially manipulates public opinion in a way that is very bad, um, how would we even know?
The conversation touches on the potential dangers of AI, particularly in terms of manipulating public opinion through social media platforms. Musk highlights the power of AI in crafting convincing and influential content, which could be detrimental if used maliciously.
Musk’s concerns underline the need for the development and implementation of AI safety measures, which should go hand in hand with AI advancements. But there is clear hypocrisy here.
Musk has admitted that he funded Open AI with 100 million dollars and then took his “eyes off the ball.” But if you fund a project for this amount of money, and you are well aware of the safety problems associated, then it’s very unlikely that you would allow your attention to waiver. Indeed, the very purpose of Open AI, according to Musk, was to develop AI in a more careful and human-centric way.
Further, Musk is now working on a competitor to Open AI. Again, if you are concerned about AI development, and you are one of the main people who have called for suspending work on AI for 6 months, then building a competitor to Open AI does not seem to be in line with what you are saying.
Finally, Musk owns Twitter and Neuralink. These are two companies that can significantly benefit from advancements in AI in many ways.
Most likely, Musk’s concerns over the years are a form of virtue signaling – a way of covering his tracks in case things go wrong. However, despite the hypocrisy, it is true that Musk has been warning about AI for many years and has done more than most in trying to spread awareness about the potential dangers of AI and continues to do so. While many things remain opaque, it is certainly good that he has voiced these concerns since many others have remained totally silent, despite being well aware of the risks.
In addition, Musk claimed he was happy to accept the accusation of being a “specist” by Larry Page.
Apparently, Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google, has expressed interest in transhumanism in the past, and has also declared himself as decidedly non-specist. That is, less concerned about the survival of the human race, and more concerned with the survival of consciousness, in all of its forms. In fact, under this worldview, all consciousness is equally valuable. There is nothing more valuable in human consciousness than AI consciousness.
Transhumanism is a movement that advocates for the use of technology and science to enhance human capabilities beyond what is currently possible. The chief goal of transhumanism is to achieve a post-human future where it is longer necessary for the human species to exist in order for meaningful life to exist. In such a world, AI would be our descendants, our “mind children” as the Moravec book by this title suggests.
In the book, Moravec explores the concept of robots evolving into intelligent, self-aware beings, ultimately surpassing human capabilities and leading to a post-human future.
Viewed in light of evolution, this is a completely natural process. The existence of life has followed a path from lower complexity to higher complexity. AI is nothing but the continuation of this process of evolution, according to transhumanists.
In a 2013 interview with TIME magazine, Page said, “Maybe in the future, we can attach a little version of Google that you just plug into your brain, and it helps you answer questions.” He also mentioned the potential for technology to help people live longer and healthier lives.
You would think that Elon, the specist, would steer clear from introducing such technologies to the world. But that’s, of course, far from true. Neuralink aims to ultimately connect the human brain to the internet, much like how Page envisions. But here’s the twist, this may ultimately be the most humane way forward.
Human augmentation, of the type that Musk or Page envision, may be humankind’s only chance to thrive in the new world of artificial intelligence. Why? Because the alternative is total slavery. (Although, it isn’t clear how this isn’t as well.)
If and when AI becomes far smarter than humans at pretty much everything, humans will be, from the perspective of AI, nothing but pets. At that point, humanity’s survival hinges on whether AI finds people interesting or useful enough. Alternatively, human augmentation suggests a way out.
There may be very humane reasons for advocating for a transhuman future. If one views the progress of technology as inevitable, and the creation of superintelligence as an escapable step, then what other optimistic vision can humans have other than merging with machines?
“Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence,” Musk told an audience at the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he also launched Tesla in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This was in 2017.
But what are the implications of this?
It means that the definition of being human will radically change.
As we stand at the threshold of a future where humans merge with machines, let’s consider the implications:
Cognitive leaps and bounds
The integration of AI and brain-computer interfaces will probably enhance human cognition, leading to faster learning and improved problem-solving. But the allure of intellectual challenges might diminish as problems become trivial to our enhanced minds. There will be a need for ever more difficult problems that may transcend the boundaries of the earth.
One possibility is that we turn our attention to the cosmos, seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Our enhanced minds might be better equipped to tackle the fundamental questions about the origins and nature of the universe, dark matter, and extraterrestrial life. This could accelerate space exploration, drive technological innovations for interstellar travel, and foster a deeper understanding of our place in the cosmos. Or maybe we turn our attention to theoretical science and mathematics.
Enhanced cognition may help us develop more sophisticated models and theories, expanding our understanding of topics like quantum mechanics, complex systems, and higher-dimensional mathematics, which could lead to advancements that provide new insights into the fabric of reality and generate novel applications in various fields, from computing to energy production.
Moreover, our increased cognitive abilities might help us address some of the most pressing global challenges, such as climate change, resource [scarcity](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125005611X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creative