Reflections in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Musk Talks About AI, Rockets, and the Future

Recently, the American startup accelerator Y Combinator held its first AI startup school in San Francisco, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk attending as a special guest and being interviewed. Musk shared his views on artificial intelligence, space exploration, and the future of humanity.

Musk stated that he has just completed a special employee term of 130 days in the "Government Efficiency Department" of the U.S. government. He likened this experience to "cleaning the beach," while the upcoming AI is a "thousand-foot-high tsunami." In his view, the significance of government efficiency reform is negligible compared to the tremendous changes brought about by AI.

Speaking of the development of AI, Musk predicts that digital superintelligence may arrive this year or next. He believes that in the future, the number of humanoid robots will far exceed that of humans, possibly reaching 5 to 10 times the human population. The scale of the AI-driven economy could be thousands or even millions of times larger than it is now, with human intelligence possibly dropping below 1%.

Musk emphasized that a rigorous commitment to the truth is the most important cornerstone of AI safety. He stated that forcing AI to believe in falsehoods is extremely dangerous. When building AI, there must be a high level of strictness to the truth, even if these truths are politically incorrect.

When talking about SpaceX, Musk reflected on the challenges the company faced in its early days. He mentioned that the successful launch of the fourth rocket was a "make-or-break" moment, and that Tesla's financing in 2008 was completed at the last moment before bankruptcy. These experiences highlight his perseverance and innovative spirit in the face of difficulties.

Musk also shared his vision of humanity becoming a multi-planetary species. He predicts that within the next 30 years, enough material will be transferred to Mars to make it self-sufficient. He believes that becoming a multi-planetary species can greatly extend the expected lifespan of civilization or consciousness, which is crucial for the future of humanity.

Regarding the future development of AI, Musk predicts that there may be multiple deep intelligences, possibly around 5 to 10. He believes it is unlikely that any one AI will have the capability to go out of control. Musk calls on people to pay attention to AI safety while also remaining optimistic about the positive changes brought by AI.

When discussing the Neuralink project, Musk stated that neural connection technology can effectively address the input-output bandwidth limitations between humans and machines. He anticipates that the first visual implant experiment will take place within the next 6 to 12 months, which could bring hope to those who are completely blind.

Musk offered advice to the young entrepreneurs and engineers present, encouraging them to focus on doing useful things and to help their fellow beings as much as possible. He emphasized that if they can achieve this, they are doing the right thing.

Finally, Musk expressed hope that through AI research, we can understand the nature of the universe and answer some of humanity's long-standing questions, such as the existence of extraterrestrial life, the origin and end of the universe, and so on. He believes that these could be important information that AI might ultimately provide us.