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Published on November 26, 2018 |
by Steve Hanley
November 26, 2018 by Steve Hanley
On Sunday night, an interview with Axios Elon Musk was broadcast on HBO. If you do not have a subscription to HBO, you may want to get one. It is, as the expression says, "TV by appointment", that is to say that it offers programs too beautiful to be missed. But in case you have done so, here are three points to remember from the program.
How Model 3 almost killed Tesla
Earlier this year, as Tesla began to increase model 3 production, Musk said Axios the company arrived a few weeks after the bankruptcy. Tesla "was facing a serious death threat. Essentially, society was bleeding money in a crazy and fair way … if we did not solve these problems in a very short time, we would die. And it was extremely difficult to solve them. "Asked about the delay of closing the company, Musk replied:" I would say in the weeks to a figure. "
Musk's notes of living, sleeping and eating at the factory during this stressful time have become an Internet joke, but Musk said it was not a joke for him personally. "I was in the paint shop, in the body shop … at the end of [the] line where we do the last vehicle check, "he said. "I personally rethought the entire battery production line and I operated it for three weeks. Pretty intense. "
"I think what a lot of people do not understand, is that I'm like the chief engineer like that.In fact, I'm leading rocket engineering and vehicle engineering and Ninety percent of my day is devoted to engineering and production.
"Nobody should put so many hours into his work. This is not good. People should not work so hard. It's very painful. It hurts, it hurts my brain and my heart. It hurts. … There were times when I literally worked 120 hours. This is not recommended to anyone. I just did it because if I did not do it, then [there was a] good luck that Tesla dies.
The existential threat of artificial intelligence
When the subject turned to artificial intelligence, Musk's remarks turned a dark tone. "My faith in humanity has been a little shaken this year. But I am still pro-humanity. We are like children in a playground. … we do not pay attention. We worry more about … what name someone called someone else than to know if the AI will destroy humanity. It's crazy. "
He fears that artificial intelligence will soon be superior to human intelligence, thus making human beings subordinate to digital masters. Artificial intelligence is only "digital intelligence," he summarizes. "And as algorithms and hardware improve, digital intelligence will far outweigh biological intelligence. It's obvious. "
"When a primate species, homo sapiens, became much smarter than other primates, it pushed all the others into a very small habitat," Musk said. "So there are very few mountain gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees – monkeys in general. They occupy small corners of the world – cages, zoos. Even the jungles in which they are found are narrowly defined, that is, they look like large cages. So, you know, it's a possible outcome for us. "
Musk founded Neuralink, a company that works to find ways to interface the human brain with computers, which it sees as a way to prevent pure AI from dominating the human race. Neuralink is made up of about 85 of the most "intelligent per capita" engineers ever assembled. "The long-term aspiration with Neuralink would be to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence. Realize a kind of democratization of intelligence, so that it is not monopolistically held in a purely digital form by governments and large corporations. "
What is he talking about exactly? An "electrode-neuron interface at a micro level – a chip and a bunch of tiny wires implanted in your skull. I think that can be done. It's probably in the order of the decade. "
In a way, we are already halfway to such a reality, says Musk. "And by the way, you already have that in a strange way. You have a digital tertiary layer in the form of your phone, your computers, your watch. You basically have these computer devices that already form a tertiary layer on your cognition. "
One of the first applications of this technology could be to help people with spinal cord injuries. "We already know how to do that. Implant electrodes in the motor cortex of the brain, then bypass the sectioned section of the spine and effectively use local microcontrollers near the muscle groups. It could restore the member's complete functionality. As you get older, people lose their memory – incredibly sad to see a mother forget her children, and this can also be solved. "
Then the conversation is darkened. "You could make a swarm of murderous UAVs for very little money. By just taking the chip face used in cell phones, with a small explosive charge and a standard drone, and simply having it sweep the building until the person sought by the person they are looking for rushes on it and explodes. You can do it now. No new technology is needed. "
Musk is even more scary for artificial intelligence's ability to influence the electoral process, which the US should be wary of as the revelations on Facebook and the 2016 presidential election continue d & # 39; emerge. He warns us against the power of AI to create "incredibly effective propaganda … influences the direction of society … influences the elections.
The government is largely blind to the threat, says Musk, and desperately behind in its weak attempts to control AI. "The way regulation is put in place is slow and linear. And we are facing an exponential threat. If you have a linear response to an exponential threat, it is highly likely that the exponential threat will override it. That's basically the problem. "
Is Mars an escape for the rich?
Musk said Axios There is a 70% chance that he will be among the people who will visit Mars aboard a SpaceX rocket in the future. He thinks the first trip could take place 7 years from now. A ticket to Mars could cost just "a few hundred thousand dollars," a sum that some say would make Mars a "loophole" for rich people, because the Earth is warming to the point where it can no longer maintain the human life.
Musk makes fun of this idea. "Your probability of dying on Mars is much higher than the Earth. Really, advertising to go on Mars would be like that of Shackleton to go to Antarctica. It is going to be difficult. There is a good chance that death will occur in a small can through the depths of space. "
Once someone gets there, it will not be a leisure life, lying by the pool and eating sweets. "You will work tirelessly to build the base. So, you know, not a lot of time for hobbies. And even after all this, it's a very hard environment. So, there is a good chance that you will die there. We think you can come back, but we are not sure. Does this sound like an escape hatch for the rich?
So, why go there? "There are a lot of people climbing the mountains. People are dying all the time on Mount Everest. They like to do it for the challenge. "
It is fair to say that Elon Musk is not opposed to risk. Indeed, it seems to thrive on risk, feed it and then actively seek out more. This appetite for skating up to and sometimes beyond the limit is what separates him from normal mortals. And that is perhaps the factor that allows Musk to save us from ourselves, even though there is no guarantee that nothing can prevent people from sowing the seeds of their own destruction and having fun in the process.
About the author
Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and wherever the singularity could take him. Charles Kuralt is his muse. "I see the road is turning, I wonder what's going on around the turn?"
You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.
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