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Perspectives on Elon's Perspectives

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Quite a bit of Terminator talk lately. At some point it might be considered a distraction. Anyway, working two full jobs I almost expect him to worn out.
I invested quite a bit in Tesla, should I be worried?
I don't know if he's lost it anymore than when he said he intended to accelerate the electrification of transportation. Or when he decided he could learn how to build rockets from scratch, by reading books (and then decided to make rockets reusable.) Or when he announced he intends to colonize Mars. Or when he said he could build an electric VTOL airplane, if only he had some free time. Or when he proposed a design for supersonic ground-based transportation.

All of which he repeats every time anyone asks him about it.

Regarding the AI risks, I, for one, am not that sure that he's wrong. Are you saying being concerned by that makes one delusional?
 
Elon owns a stake in one of the leading AI companies. He has likely seen first hand how far along the company is. Elon Musk is not the first word renowned genius to suggest AI could be a greater threat to humanity than nuclear weapons.

Zuckerberg, Musk Invest in Artificial-Intelligence Company - WSJ

Think about it like this. Almost everyone who owns a PC has likely had their anti virus software accidentally delete something that was not a virus.
 
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Quite a bit of Terminator talk lately. At some point it might be considered a distraction. Anyway, working two full jobs I almost expect him to worn out.
I invested quite a bit in Tesla, should I be worried?

No, he's not loosing it. People keep asking him and he keeps answering the same. A very balanced answer, a very sensible view on something that is hard for us to estimate the probability of it being dangerous to us but if it were to be dangerous would pose a true existential risk (meaning the total destruction of human civilization for eternity) so even if the risk it self was very small the outcome would be so devastating that it merits consideration and caution anyway. He's intelligent enough to see things for what they are.
 
That terminator talk may come from the concern of building smart cars. There is a huge risk of potentially deadly car accidents if there is a failure of control. Tesla car will be summonable apparently. Just imagine what sort of weapon that may become.

I find it unrealistic to expect someone to achieve extraordinary results and to behave like an ordinary person. At some point, some rare individuals just take off and leave the rest of us behind. The ones left behind may have troubles grasping leaders point of view.

Nikola Tesla appeared as someone who 'lost it' to his contemporaries. His legacy enormously benefits the world.

Regarding investing in TSLA, I find it risky, but it is the kind of risk that I like taking.
 
It's amusing watching engineers and tech startup people mock Elon's "demon" comments on AI lately. I think it's good that Elon is not being completely gung-ho on AI, and that we should be very cautious. A very large-scale AI system in 2015+ is not the same as old 20th century sci-fi depictions of AI. We have the Internet now, we have really Big Data that's getting bigger every minute. We have Bluffdale's yottabytes of storage of everything everyone's ever said, emailed, texted, accessed online, you name it. Give an AI access to that, or maybe it figures out how to get access to it, and the results could be unpredictable.

Maybe benignly, humorously unpredictable, but maybe harmfully unpredictable. So we need to proceed with caution. And the tech industry is not used to proceeding with caution. Imagine applying the "you're always in beta" philosophy to a big AI system. What if there are bugs in the code for Asimov's robot laws?

For the record, I'm also not a big fan of autonomous vehicles. I think they're going to be a nightmare. Not because of the predictable glitches that cause a few accidents/injuries/deaths -- that's inevitable. No, the part I worry about is autonomous vehicles used for terrorist activity. It's going to be a whole new ballgame, folks.
 
No, the part I worry about is autonomous vehicles used for terrorist activity. It's going to be a whole new ballgame, folks.

Of all the viable arguments you come up with a fear mongering "OMG TERRORISTS"?
What about Quadcopter drones, anyone can build one today for a couple grand, can manoeuvre it wherever they want, with 20+ lb. payload. Even with a live broadcasted cam so the can navigate behind direct visibility.
Thats already a lot of damage that can be done.
Given all the amazing technology we have today, 3d printing, quadcopter drones, wireless everything, etc etc. its amazing how absolutely nothing of that is used by terrorists in the Western World.

The only conclusion I can reach from that is that the terrorists boogyman way way overblown.
 
My fear in autonomous vehicles is the change in use pattern. It becomes possible for you to have your car go home while you are at an appointment if parking is a pain or you simply do not want to deal with it. You could even have the car circle while you take care of business. These are only but two ways where vehicle miles go UP with autonomous vehicles. There are bunches more. The up side would be that the Total Recall taxi would become a reality.
 
I don't know if he's lost it anymore than when he said he intended to accelerate the electrification of transportation. Or when he decided he could learn how to build rockets from scratch, by reading books (and then decided to make rockets reusable.) Or when he announced he intends to colonize Mars. Or when he said he could build an electric VTOL airplane, if only he had some free time. Or when he proposed a design for supersonic ground-based transportation.

Pretty much my thoughts on the subject. There is little doubt in my mind that Elon is probably crazier than Steve Jobs was, and that is exactly why people should take Elon seriously. The people who build stuff that changes the world are almost always more than a little odd.
 
While I disagree with Elon about AI (I think the risks, while not zero, are very small and very manageable), I don't think those comments are the ones to worry about. As someone else said, people keep asking him and he gives a not crazy opinion.
 
AI is a huge disruptor which is likely positive for humanity but has downside risks. These must be acknowledged and sequestering will need to occur. Luckily American and old Russian ICBMs are off line and have no significant risk of being set off by an AI. Similarly Chinese computer chips are rare in American or Russian defense arsenals ( no back doors to worry about).

There are huge risks in an integrated world but also huge rewards. We will feed 9 billion humans. We will overcome AGW. We will survive and prosper. Humans are already becoming cyborgs. Mars will be colonized. (I agree with Elon.) Our great grandchildren will look back and wonder how we survived without their tech.

I am 5 seconds from death as I drive 70mph down the toll road. Acknowledging this concern reminds me not to fall asleep at the wheel until I get an autonomous driving car.

Elon says the same about AI as the reason he started Tesla to have a solution to mitigate the effects of potential devastation from AGW risks. He is careful to couch his concerns about AGW by saying why take the risk that climate scientists could be right.
 
He's not losing it. He's the only one willing to say the emperor has no clothes. Or perhaps he's one of the few who actually recognizes the emperor is nekkid. :) In any case, he's caused me to pause and rethink things on a number of occasions. That's a visionary in my book.
 
Elon Musk is a Martian. His kind went extinct due to both climate change and AI taking over in Mars. He was the last Martian sent to Earth, kinda like superman being sent to Earth before the planet went extinct. As he grows up, he remembers his origins, and what caused other Martian to go extinct. Now he wants to go back to Mars and rebuild the colony, while at the same time warning others of the dangers of climate change and AI. :tongue: