Sign In  |  Register  |  About Mill Valley  |  Contact Us

Mill Valley, CA
September 01, 2020 1:29pm
7-Day Forecast | Traffic
  • Search Hotels in Mill Valley

  • CHECK-IN:
  • CHECK-OUT:
  • ROOMS:

'I f----ing like humanity, dude': Elon Musk's friendship with then-Google CEO ended over AI: book

The friendship between Elon Musk and Larry Page collapsed amid disagreements over the use of artificial intelligence, according to a new book on Musk.

Tech moguls Elon Musk and Larry Page's friendship collapsed over their differences on artificial intelligence, according to a new book that outlines how Musk believed that his former friend was too "cavalier" about the technology.

Walter Isaacson’s new book reports how Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, got into a heated debate with Page, then the CEO of Google at Musk’s 2013 birthday party.

Musk is said to have argued that unless safeguards are put in place with artificial intelligence, the systems may replace humans entirely. Page then pushed back, reportedly asking why it would matter if machines surpassed humans in intelligence.

ELON MUSK BIOGRAPHY CONTAINS INACCURATE TALE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR INCIDENT, AUTHOR ADMITS: ‘I MADE A MISTAKE’

Isaacson’s book lays out how Musk then called human consciousness a precious flicker of light in the universe that shouldn’t be snuffed out. Page is then said to have called Musk "specist."

"Well yes, I am pro-human," Musk responded. "I f---ing like humanity dude."

It would later unnerve Musk when he heard of Page’s attempts to buy artificial intelligence company DeepMind: "The future of AI should not be controlled by Larry," he said as he sought to put together financing to stop the deal.

Musk would go on to warn about the potential dangers of AI, calling it "our biggest existential threat." He would also say that he didn’t "love the idea of being a house cat."

MUSK SAYS AI INDUSTRY NEEDS A ‘REFEREE’ BUT CONGRESS IS NOT YET READY TO CHAMPION ROLE

Musk would go on to co-found a nonprofit AI group called OpenAI, making tech open-source and trying to block Google's dominance in the field. That group would eventually lead to the chatbot now called ChatGPT.

Musk would focus on guardrails and keeping AI as an extension of human goals and values rather than its own entity.

Meanwhile, the friendship between Page and Musk is said to have deteriorated, exacerbated by the snapping up of one of Google’s top scientists by OpenAI. Isaacson reports that the two barely spoke again after OpenAI was launched in 2015.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

"Larry felt betrayed and was really mad at me for personally recruiting [the scientist], and he refused to hang out with me anymore," Musk said. "And I was like, ‘Larry, if you just hadn’t been so cavalier about AI safety then it wouldn’t really be necessary to have some countervailing force." 

Musk has addressed that split before. In April, he told Fox News that he co-founded OpenAI to make "a non-profit that is fully open because Google was closed, for-profit."

He also addressed the claim of being called a "specist" — meaning he favors humans over other mammals: "Yes, I’m a specist, okay. You got me. What are you? Yeah, I’m fully a specist."

Fox News' Andrew Murray contributed to this report.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
 
 
Copyright © 2010-2020 MillValley.com & California Media Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.