OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:48 PM – Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Elon Musk has urged for a federal department of AI at a Capitol Hill summit with high-profile industry leaders.
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On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO told senators during a private meeting on Capitol Hill that artificial intelligence poses a “civilizational risk” to governments and communities.
His comments came at a closed-door AI meeting attended by Big Tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman. Although all 100 senators were invited, not all came.
After the almost three hour meeting, Musk spoke to reporters about the summit and called it “historic.”
He also reportedly supported the idea of a creation of a new federal agency to monitor AI and reiterated his warning that AI poses a significant risk.
“The consequences of AI going wrong are severe so we have to be proactive rather than reactive,” Musk said. “The question is really one of civilizational risk. It’s not like … one group of humans versus another. It’s like, hey, this is something that’s potentially risky for all humans everywhere.”
When he was asked if AI will destroy mankind, the SpaceX CEO paused and replied, “There is some chance that is above zero that AI will kill us all. I think it’s low. But if there’s some chance, I think we should also consider the fragility of human civilization.”
Meta CEO Zuckerberg’s team provided his prepared remarks on the addition of an AI Department.
“I agree that Congress should engage with AI to support innovation and safeguards,” Zuckerberg said. “This is an emerging technology, there are important equities to balance here, and the government is ultimately responsible for that.”
Musk reportedly stated that there appeared to be a “strong consensus.” He also believes the federal AI agency would operate similarly to the Federal Aviation Administration or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and that those working in the field must be “proactive while reactive.”
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