Are you terrified of artificial intelligence? Do you conjure up a dystopic future when everything is controlled by machines and humans are rebelling against their mighty robotic leaders? Well, so do other leading tech pioneers.
Speaking in a Reddit “AskMeAnything” thread Wednesday, Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, joined the chorus of caution regarding AI: be aware. Gates noted that at first machines will be limited in what they do, but as the decades pass us by then that’s the time we should really be worried.
“I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence,” Gates responded when asked about the potential existential threat put forward by AI. “First, the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that, though, the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern.”
He added that he concurs with Elon Musk on this issue and doesn’t know why other industry leaders aren’t just as concerned about this possible threat in the distant future.
We reported in October that Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has been one of the most vocal critics of AI. He likened the development of AI to “summoning the demon” and even warned that AI could be a lot more dangerous than nuclear weapons.
“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. You know all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water and he’s like… yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon, [but] it doesn’t work out,” said Musk at a conference.
In December, Stephen Hawking, the famous theoretical physicist and bestselling author of world-renowned “A Brief History of Time,” was pretty clear in his predictions of the growth of AI: it could be the end of humanity.
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” averred Hawking. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”
Of course, with self-driving vehicles and other advancements, AI development is only growing.
Gates opens the gates on other topics
During the Q&A session, the billion-dollar tech icon also discussed an array of other issues, including learning a foreign language, digital currency and virtual reality.
First, Gates confirmed that he did study Latin and Greek in high school, but he wishes he took the time to learn Arabic, French and Chinese.
Second, he thinks Microsoft has started virtual reality after the unveiling of its newsworthy and headline generating HoloLens, the virtual reality goggles.
Third, Gates does believe peer-to-peer decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin are “exciting new technologies,” but noted that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is on the cusp of launching its own cryptocurrency.
Gates also touched upon the more mundane topics: he prefers In-N-Out burgers, he enjoys Thai and Indian food, he’ll be cheering for the Seattle Seahawks at the Super Bowl and he likes his ribs to be smothered in barbecue sauce.