Elon Musk Warns Governors to Regulate AI Before It’s Too Late

The tech executive calls AI a 'fundamental risk to the existence of civilization.'

July 17, 2017 11:49 am

The time to regulate tomorrow’s technology is today, Tesla’s CEO said.

Elon Musk told a gathering of US governors that regulations should be placed on artificial intelligence before it becomes a threat. He warned the politicians, saying the tech poses a “fundamental risk to the existence of civilization.”

The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has repeatedly publicized his concerns regarding AI before and compared it to “summoning the demon,” according to The Verge. But, Musk’s warning to the National Governors Association meeting on Saturday had an added dose of urgency.

“AI is a rare case where we need to be proactive about regulation instead of reactive. Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it’s too late,” he told the governors.

The type of AI he’s worried about is described as general artificial intelligence, which is the typical futuristic sentient robots portrayed in science-fiction. However, many experts don’t think that advanced AI will be invented within our lifetime.

Acknowledging this view, Musk said, “I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don’t know how to react, because it seems so ethereal.”

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