Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization’

Morris, David Z. "Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization.’" Under "Artificial Intelligence," Fortune Tech. On line 4:25 PM Eastern Time, 15 July 2017. <http://fortune.com/2017/07/15/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-2/>

Morris quotes the statement by Musk, CEO of Tesla, at the US National Governor's Association meeting 15 July 2017: "'AI’s a rare case where we need to be proactive in regulation, instead of reactive. Because by the time we are reactive with AI regulation, it’s too late,' [...] Musk then drew a contrast between AI and traditional targets for regulation, saying 'AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization, in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs, or bad food were not.'" Morris comments that "Those are strong words from a man occasionally associated with so-called cyberlibertarianism, a fervently anti-regulation ideology exemplified by the likes of Peter Thiel, who co-founded Paypal with Musk."

Note the venue of a meeting of the governors of US States and Musk's speaking as a man who can correctly claim to "have access to the very most cutting edge AI," and is credible in asserting consistently that "... people should be really concerned about" the risks of AI.[1]

RDE, with thanks to Shana Rosenberg, 15July17