Tesla CEO Elon Musk warns of risks posed by AI; 'non-zero chance of it going Terminator'

Billionaire Elon Musk and ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt are escalating their cautions regarding the potential risks of rogue advanced artificial intelligence, which they say could have disastrous consequences for humanity. Schmidt proclaimed AI as an "existential risk" to humankind that could lead to countless people being harmed or killed as it progresses in the future. Musk likened the hazardous situation to that seen in James Cameron's 1984 movie "Terminator", as per a report from New York Post. 

Schmidt said, "There are scenarios not today, but reasonably soon, where these systems will be able to find zero-day exploits in cyber issues, or discover new kinds of biology. Now, this is fiction today, but its reasoning is likely to be true. And when that happens, we want to be ready to know how to make sure these things are not misused by evil people". 

Non-zero chance of AI going rogue, says Musk

Elon Musk said that there is non-zero chance that AI will go rogue and wipe out humanity. “There’s a non-zero chance of it going Terminator. It’s not zero percent. It’s a small likelihood of annihilating humanity, but it’s not zero. We want that probability to be as close to zero as possible," he said. 

What exactly is AI and what are the risks associated with it?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn. It is an area of computer science that emphasises the creation of intelligent machines that are capable of performing tasks that would normally require human intervention. AI technology has been used in many different fields, ranging from finance to healthcare, military operations, and autonomous vehicles.

AI poses several risks to humanity. The most discussed risk is related to the potential for AI systems to become unpredictable or unruly. For example, AI systems could be programmed with malicious intent and, if unleashed, could potentially cause widespread harm to people or physical destruction. There is also the risk that AI algorithms could be used to manipulate large segments of the population by manipulating social media content. Finally, there is the potential for AI algorithms to amplify existing inequality in society by giving certain groups of people greater access to resources or information.