Elon Musk has declared that AI progress is now unstoppable, telling The Economist that even he could not halt the momentum. According to the interview with The Economist's Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, Musk stated that 'there seems to be just inexorable progress here in AI and in robots that even if I wanted to stop it, I couldn't.' This represents a significant shift from his previous stance, as in March 2023, Musk signed the Future of Life Institute's open letter urging a six-month pause on AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Despite this earlier caution, Musk now sees no brakes on AI development.
Musk maintained his earlier warning about AI's potential dangers, standing by his estimate of a 10% to 20% chance that killer robots would wipe out humanity. As reported by The Economist, he emphasized that 'I still think there's risk associated with AI and robots. It's not zero.' However, he argued against pulling the plug on AI development, suggesting that 'we probably shouldn't press it' because the most likely outcome is abundance for all. His new philosophy sums up as 'let's enjoy the ride' according to the interview.
Musk provided specific timelines for AI development milestones during the interview. According to The Economist, he stated that 'AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in about and around five years.' Within 10 years, he argued, humans will likely no longer be in charge of AI systems. Musk compared this coming intelligence gap to the difference between humans and chimpanzees, highlighting the dramatic nature of the technological advancement ahead.
Musk acknowledged his role in building the current AI momentum, co-founding OpenAI in 2015 as 'essentially a counterweight to Google.' As reported by The Economist, he noted that Anthropic later spun out of OpenAI, and both companies now race ahead of regulators. Washington just cleared OpenAI's GPT-5.6 for broad rollout, demonstrating the rapid pace of AI development. Musk stated that 'all roads lead to acceleration of AI' and suggested that 'you can just sort of be sad about it or join the club, I suppose.'
