Billionaire Elon Musk has warned that establishing a “single world government” could bring about the end of humanity as a whole, while also pointing to artificial intelligence as one of the “biggest risks” facing human civilization.
In a remote speech at the 2023 World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said that the fall of Rome during the 5th century was an example of how civilizations can rise and fall without bringing doom to humanity as a whole, as there have been different civilizations separated by great distances.
“I’m obviously not suggesting war or anything like that. But I think we want to be a little wary of actually cooperating too much,” he said, adding that the world needs “civilizational diversity” to ensure that if something goes wrong with one civilization, the whole thing does not collapse and humanity keeps moving forward.
Regarding artificial intelligence, Musk called for regulatory oversight similar to what is in place for vehicles, medicine, and other potentially risky technologies. He cited ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI, as an example of an advanced AI that has attracted attention for its human-like responses to questions.
The entrepreneur warned that advanced AIs have existed for a while, but the matter has only recently come to public attention because ChatGPT put an “accessible user interface on AI technology.”
Musk also pointed to Microsoft’s Bing AI chat, which has exhibited hostile characteristics, as an example of the dangers posed by artificial intelligence.
Calling it “one of the biggest risks to the future of civilization,” Musk stressed that artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword with positive features as well.