Elon Musk's Artificial Intelligence Warning Earns Mark Zuckerberg's Ire: It's 'Pretty Irresponsible'
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are having a tiff about artificial intelligence (AI). The Facebook inventor disagrees with Musk, who said to a group of politicians that AI is the human race's biggest threat, hence it needs to be regulated.
On Facebook Live, Zuckerberg called the SpaceX CEO's doomsday warning as "pretty irresponsible" and negative. He also expressed his optimism for AI technology, which he believes will help make the world better.
"I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just I don't understand it," Zuckerberg said. "It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible."
Zuckerberg went on to say that five or 10 years from now, the quality of human life will be better because of many AI improvements. He cited AI is "is already helping diagnose diseases" and could eventually eliminate car accidents and road mishaps with the dramatic acceleration of self-driving car technology.
Zuckerberg also said technology can be both good and bad, depending on how people develop or use it. But he questioned the rationale of Musk who wants politicians to impose laws and regulations against AI, which the Facebook boss said could only slow down progress.
Musk, however, said that Zuckerberg's understanding of AI is "limited." He deduced this from his discussions with the Facebook CEO.
Incidentally, both billionaires invest heavily in AI. At Facebook, Zuckerberg manages a team of AI experts who are building face and voice recognition programs. Musk is the founder of OpenAI and also makes use of the technology for his Tesla cars and SpaceX projects.
Zuckerberg, however, is more optimistic when it comes to technology and usually makes measured public statements. Musk, on the other hand, stated in 2014 that developing AI is like "summoning the demon." He also does not shy away from speaking up even if his statements are misinterpreted or become controversial.
