Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, shakes hands with X chief executive Elon Musk following the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit. AFP
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, shakes hands with X chief executive Elon Musk following the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit. AFP
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, shakes hands with X chief executive Elon Musk following the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit. AFP
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, shakes hands with X chief executive Elon Musk following the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit. AFP

Elon Musk warns of a future where 'no job is needed' in conversation with Rishi Sunak


Soraya Ebrahimi
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In a conversation with Rishi Sunak to close out the UK government’s artificial intelligence safety summit, Elon Musk spoke of a world in which work would be unnecessary but also warned of humanoid robots that “can chase you anywhere”.

The British Prime Minister threw softball questions to the X owner during a 50-minute-long interview after the two-day event at Bletchley Park, which was attended by politicians and experts from around the world.

Mr Musk, whom Mr Sunak described as a “brilliant innovator and technologist”, said “there will come a point where no job is needed” and the only reason people will work will be for their own satisfaction.

He described AI as a “a magic genie” that grants you limitless wishes and will usher in an “age of abundance”.

“One of the future challenges will be how do we find meaning in life if you have a magic genie that can do everything you want,” he said.

“We won’t have universal basic income, we’ll have universal high income, so in some sense it will be somewhat of a leveller or an equaliser because really I think everyone will have access to this magic genie.”

Discussing robots, Mr Musk stressed the need of having an off-switch for humanoid versions that can give chase.

“A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere,” the tech entrepreneur said in the talk, which was not broadcast live but will be streamed on X later.

“It’s something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they’re not so friendly any more?”

The Prime Minister said “we’ve all watched” movies about robots that end with the machines being switched off.

The AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park – in pictures

Mr Musk also said the UK “is in a strong position” in developing robots, praising Dyson in particular.

He spoke of the technology’s potential to provide “companionship”, saying it could “know you better than anyone, perhaps even yourself”.

“You will actually have a great friend,” he said and added that one of his sons has “some learning disabilities and has trouble making friends” and “an AI friend would actually be great for him”.

The tech boss supported Mr Sunak’s decision to invite China to his AI summit, saying “if they’re not participants, it’s pointless”.

He also appeared to back the UK’s approach to AI regulation, saying: “If you look at any sports game, there’s always a referee.”

Hours before the conversation with Mr Sunak, Mr Musk posted a picture appearing to criticise the AI safety summit.

The Tesla chief executive shared a cartoon image on his social media platform that appeared to suggest world leaders who attended the gathering were not really concerned about safety but about developing the technology first.

Mr Sunak returned to Whitehall for the conversation with the tech tycoon after wrapping up the two-day gathering held at Bletchley Park, the home of Allied codebreakers during the Second World War.

At a press conference concluding the event, he said the summit would “tip the balance in favour of humanity” after reaching an agreement with technology firms to vet their models before their release.

Asked whether his conversation with Mr Musk would not be live-streamed because Mr Sunak was worried about what the tech entrepreneur might say, the Prime Minister replied: “Elon Musk is someone who has for a long time spoken about AI … I’m delighted that he was attending and participating yesterday.”

MATCH INFO

Sheffield United 3

Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90

Manchester United 3

Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79

THE BIO

BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.

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UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

SPECS
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Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.

The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers. 

The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

Updated: November 02, 2023, 11:31 PM`