When Elon Musk tweets, the world listens. Earlier today, the Tesla and SpaceX founder claimed that “competition for AI superiority at national level” is the “most likely cause of WW3”. A cheery thought that he signed off with a nonchalant “imo”.
That nugget, to date, has garnered 18,000 retweets and countless clickbait headlines. Problem is, complex issues such as the potential breakout of World War 3 aren’t best distilled down to 140 characters. Especially at a time when North Korea may be on the verge of launching a nuclear missile.
Musk’s tweet was in response to comments made by Russian president Vladimir Putin, as reported by state mouthpiece Russia Today. “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world,” Putin said, referring to the potential power of artificial intelligence to shape our future. “It begins...” tweeted Musk alongside a link to a news report parroting Putin’s comments.
Case in point: earlier this month Musk warned that artificial intelligence was “vastly more” risky than North Korea. “If you’re not concerned about AI safety, you should be.” As head of a company developing hugely complex autonomous driving systems, Musk is well-placed to comment on the power and risks of AI, but taking to Twitter to make sensational proclamations isn’t the way to go. This is a complex area of research and debate. Don’t turn it into soundbites.
Musk’s undeniably strong Twitter game is, at times, straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. Be controversial and be assertive. The press loves it. And so does the public. It feeds the hungry algorithms that make us share more on Facebook and Twitter, sustaining an echo chamber where the quiet voices of reason are drowned out by a cacophony of sensationalism. It’s perhaps ironic then that Musk’s bombastic approach has been criticised by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In July, Zuck said he didn’t understand people who “try to drum up these doomsday scenarios”, adding that it was “pretty irresponsible”. Facebook, of course, being a bastion of reasoned, responsible discourse. In response, Musk claimed Zuckerberg’s understanding of the subject was “limited”.
Musk has long had a bee in his bonnet over the potential risks of artificial intelligence. Last month he cosigned a letter to the United Nations calling for new regulations limiting the development of AI weapons. “We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora’s box is opened, it will be hard to close,” the letter warned.
Read more: From nuclear war to rogue AI, the top 10 threats facing civilisation
The Tesla founder is a prodigious entrepreneur, but his social media soothsaying leaves a lot to be desired. Musk’s penchant for outlandish statements also serves to sensationalise important issues, remove nuance and reduce everything to soundbites. Remind you of anyone?
On the subject of rogue AI, he would do well to direct people towards the Centre of the Study of Existential Risk (for which he is an external advisor) and the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, both of which have done extensive research in this field and offer more nuanced perspectives.
Musk is well within his rights to express his informed opinions. But that doesn’t mean everyone has to take it as gospel. News reports about his tweets, that pander to his celebrity with little or no due-diligence, ensure the public remains less well-informed. It also drives the cycle of clickbait, with people clamouring to share a sensational headline for lolz.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
