South African-born American technology entrepreneur and businessman Elon Musk is the founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink; and co-founder and initial co-chairman of OpenAI. An outspoken advocate for regulated AI, he often refers to artificial intelligence (AI) as humanity’s ‘biggest existential threat’. Musk was also one of the signatories of an open letter that called on the United Nations to ban the development and use of killer robots.
Musk’s activities in the area of AI are mostly centred on the funding of AI-related research, advocacy, and various contributions to international discussions on the development of AI.
In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a research laboratory, to develop safe and artificial general intelligence that would benefit all humanity. However, in February 2019, Musk said he had left the organisation over disagreements with the team’s direction. He also criticised the organisation he helped to found, questioning the ability of OpenAI to fulfill its mission of developing transparent, safe and beneficial AI.
In his public appearances, Musk often talks about the dangers and risks associated with AI. He usually speaks of AI as the ‘biggest existential threat’ that is ‘far more dangerous than nukes’. He has also called for regulatory oversight of AI, stating that all organisations developing advanced AI, including his companies, should be regulated. He believes that advanced AI development should be regulated both by national governments and international bodies, such as the UN.
Musk is also an outspoken advocate for the ban of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). To that end, he led a group of 116 founders of AI and robotic companies and notable researchers who signed a pledge calling for the UN to prevent a military AI arms race that includes the development and deployment of the so-called killer robots.
- Advocates for regulatory oversight of AI.
- Advocates for a ban of lethal autonomous weapons.