Top AI researcher says AI will end humanity and we should stop developing it now — but don't worry, Elon Musk disagrees
TechRadar
Abundance Summit 2024, 'Great AI Debate' seminar (exact day not confirmed)
“I think there's some chance that it will end humanity. I probably agree with Geoff Hinton that it's about 10% or 20% or something like that ... I think that the probable positive scenario outweighs the negative scenario.”
Elon MuskMarch 2024- What you'll lose0/5
Nothing taken yet.
- Condescension1/5
Agreeing with Hinton, then not.
- Tone-deafness3/5
Up to a one-in-five chance of ending humanity: worth it.
- Doom5/5
'Some chance that it will end humanity', about 10% or 20%.
- Hypocrisy2/5
A year earlier he signed a letter asking for a six-month pause on giant AI experiments.
Full time11 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
Abundance Summit 2024, 'Great AI Debate' seminar (exact day not confirmed), March 2024.
Context
Musk spoke at the four-day Abundance Summit in a seminar called the Great AI Debate. Asked about the risk from AI, he put his own odds at about 10% to 20% and said that the probable positive scenario outweighs the negative one, so development should continue. The outlets say 'earlier this month' (March 2024); the day was not confirmed.
Crowd reaction
Critical commentary
AI safety researcher Roman Yampolskiy told Business Insider that Musk was 'a bit too conservative' and asked: 'Not sure why he thinks it is a good idea to pursue this technology anyway' (TechRadar). TechRadar's headline sets Musk against the warning ('but don't worry, Elon Musk disagrees'), and Windows Central noted he 'didn't share how he came to this conclusion'. Business Insider's own headline (not readable) reportedly adds 'but we should do it anyway'.
- TechRadar: Top AI researcher says AI will end humanity and we should stop developing it now — but don't worry, Elon Musk disagrees
- Windows Central: Elon Musk says there’s a 20% chance AI will end humanity, but more advances should be made regardless
- The Hans India: Elon Musk Warns of 10-20% Chance of AI Threat to Humanity: Insights from Abundance Summit
- Upstox: Can AI end humanity? Elon Musk sees up to 20% chance, says 'don't teach it to lie'
- Where the exact words are printed