Elon Musk ended the UK’s first artificial intelligence (AI) safety summit with another slew of warnings, this time over the future of work.
Having already suggested AI might end the human race earlier in the week, the Tesla boss picked up the thread again yesterday, adding it would end the need for work as well.
In an unusual onstage conversation/interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last night, Musk said he could envisage a time when people only worked for personal satisfaction.
“AI can do everything. I don’t know if that makes people comfortable or uncomfortable. It’s both good and bad. One of the challenges in the future will be: how do we find meaning in life?”
“We won’t be on universal basic income; we will be on universal high income.”
Musk, who as well as being Tesla’s chief executive owns X/Twitter, warned again of the dangers of AI and the need for 'off-switches' as humanoid robots get more sophisticated.
"There is a safety concern, especially with humanoid robots - at least a car can't chase you into a building or up a tree," he quipped to the invited audience of 300 tech industry leaders at the Lancaster House hotel in a reference to Tesla’s development of driverless technology.
In the shorter term, Musk urged tax incentives for tech entrepreneurs in the UK to encourage innovation and the appetite to set up new companies.
“The culture should celebrate creating new companies. A high-reward pot needs to be there to make it work.”
In response, Sunak acknowledged people were anxious over AI but denied it was a threat to jobs.
“I know this is an anxiety that people have. We should look at AI much more as a co-pilot than something that necessarily is going to replace someone’s job.
“AI is a tool that can help almost everybody do their jobs better, faster, quicker, and that’s how we’re already seeing it being deployed.
“I’m of the view that technology like AI which enhances productivity over time is beneficial for an economy. It makes things cheaper, it makes the economy more productive.”
Earlier when closing the summit, Sunak hailed the general consensus of governments and tech firms to oversee AI developments, though said it was government’s job to control its use.
“It’s only governments that can test the national security risks. Ultimately, that is the responsibility and knowledge of a sovereign government, with the involvement of our intelligence agencies, as they have been with all AI work thus far.”
While the consensus is voluntary, it will likely evolve into binding agreements in future, he said.
Countries attending the AI summit at Bletchley Park had earlier signed a separate declaration warning of AI’s safety risks.