Svmuu News: Musk recently sat down for an interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of *The Economist*, and shared his views on topics such as super-intelligent AI, politics, and AI regulation.
Musk predicted that artificial intelligence will surpass the combined intelligence of all humanity within the next five years or so, and stated that by then, AI will outperform humans in nearly every field—except for “being human.” He believes that AI has the potential to usher in an “era of unprecedented abundance,” enabling people to obtain almost anything they desire.
Regarding the risks of AI, Musk reiterated his previous assessment that the probability of AI causing human extinction is approximately 10% to 20%, but noted that as the development of AI and robotics is now irreversible, he has come to accept this reality and said his current attitude is to “enjoy the journey”—even if a “pause button” existed, it might not necessarily be the right choice to press it.
Musk admitted that he had “gotten a little too involved in politics, even to the point of getting carried away.” However, he still defended his previous efforts to push the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut fiscal spending, stating that his goal was to reduce government waste and fraudulent spending.
Regarding AI governance, Musk suggested that major AI labs such as OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic should hold regular safety meetings to assess potential risks in each other’s models before new models are released. He believes that competitors are better equipped than the government to identify issues in each other’s models.
Furthermore, Musk once again criticized OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit organization to a closed-source, for-profit company and reiterated his dissatisfaction with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; At the same time, he praised Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei as “a man of great principle” and stated that, if necessary, AI companies should “set aside personal grievances and cooperate for the good of the world.”
During the interview, Musk also insisted that budget cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “have not caused anyone’s death” and denied related criticisms, prompting skepticism from the interviewer. (Business Insider)