Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that artificial intelligence is one of the "most destructive force" in history, and there will come a point where no job will be needed and AI will do everything. In a conversation with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the X owner, in response to a question about AI rendering certain jobs obsolete, said, "We are seeing the most destructive force in history here. There will come a point where no job is needed—you can have a job if you want one for personal satisfaction, but AI will do everything," as quoted by news agency PTI. "It's both good and bad – one of the challenges in the future will be how do we find meaning in life," he stated.
The duo was having a conversation at the AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK government. Both held discussions over a range of issues, from job threats posed by artificial intelligence to how AI-enabled robots could make good "friends" in the future. The recording of the discussion at Lancaster House in London on Thursday evening was shared on X.
Sunak, who was seen playing chat show host, asked questions to the billionaire about the risks associated with the fast-developing and "transformative" new technology. Musk described AI as "a magic genie" that could grant limitless wishes and agreed with the need for a "referee" to monitor the development of supercomputers of the future, as reported by PTI.
Musk, however, said that he believed that artificial intelligence would "be a force for good" and used a reference to his son, who struggled to make friends in the real world who would benefit from such smart tech with robotic "friends".
"A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere; it's something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they're not so friendly any more," he stated, highlighting the importance of humans being able to override AI with "some kind of off switch".
Sunak agreed and referenced sci-fi films about robots that end with the machines being switched off. "We've learnt over the years that having a referee is a good thing," said Musk, with reference to announcements at the Summit about new safety institutes that would test future AI models before they are released into the public domain.
The discussion that took place during the summit at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire was attended by some members of the UK Cabinet and tech entrepreneurs. The event was declared a success by the UK government as participating nations, including India, signed a Bletchley Declaration agreeing to manage potential risks from AI and companies developing frontier AI agreeing on a "ground-breaking" plan on AI safety testing.
"Until now, the only people testing the safety of new AI models have been the very companies developing it. We shouldn't rely on them to mark their own homework, as many of them agree. Today, we've reached a historic agreement, with governments and AI companies working together to test the safety of their models before and after they are released," said Sunak, as quoted by PTI.
He added that the UK's AI Safety Institute will play a vital role in leading this work in partnership with countries around the world, including an American AI Safety Institute.