Elon Musk warns the Terminator films could become reality: Tesla founder is investing in AI research to keep track of the technology
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Tesla-founder, Elon Musk, believes that a horrific 'Terminator-like' scenario could be created from research into artificial intelligence.
The 42-year-old is so worried, he is investing in AI companies, not to make money, but to keep an eye on the technology in case it gets out of hand.
For a man regarded as one of the world's leading innovators, his comments provide a sobering warning of the dangers that AI could pose to humanity.
Tesla-founder, Elon Musk, (pictured) believes a horrific 'Terminator-like' scenario could be created from research into artificial intelligence. The 42-year-old is so worried that he is investing in AI companies, not to make money, but to keep an eye on the technology in case it gets out of hand
In March, Musk made an investment San Francisco-based AI group Vicarious, along with Mark Zuckerberg and actor Ashton Kutcher.
Vicarious' ultimate aim is to build a 'computer that thinks like a person… except it doesn't have to eat or sleep', according to the company's co-founder Scott Phoenix.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Musk said: 'I think there is potentially a dangerous outcome there.'
'There have been movies about this, you know, like Terminator,' Musk continued. 'There are some scary outcomes. And we should try to make sure the outcomes are good, not bad.'
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Musk said: 'I think there is potentially a dangerous outcome there. There have been movies about this, you know, like Terminator'. Pictured is a scene from Terminator 2
GOOGLE SETS UP AI ETHICS BOARD TO CURB THE RISE OF THE ROBOTS
Google has set up an ethics board to oversee its work in artificial intelligence.
The search giant has recently bought several robotics companies, along with Deep Mind, a British firm creating software that tries to help computers think like humans.
One of its founders warned artificial intelligence is 'number 1 risk for this century,' and believes it could play a part in human extinction
'Eventually, I think human extinction will probably occur, and technology will likely play a part in this,' DeepMind's Shane Legg said in a recent interview.
Among all forms of technology that could wipe out the human species, he singled out artificial intelligence, or AI, as the 'number 1 risk for this century.'
The ethics board, revealed by web site The Information, is to ensure the projects are not abused.
Neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, 37, founded DeepMind two years ago with the aim of trying to help computers think like humans.
Vicarious is currently attempting to build a program that mimics the brain's neocortex.
The neocortex is the top layer of the cerebral hemispheres in the brain of mammals. It is around 3mm thick and has six layers, each involved with various functions.
These include sensory perception, spatial reasoning, conscious thought, and language in humans.
According to the company's website: 'Vicarious is developing machine learning software based on the computational principles of the human brain.
'Our first technology is a visual perception system that interprets the contents of photographs and videos in a manner similar to humans.
'Powering this technology is a new computational paradigm we call the Recursive Cortical Network.'
In October 2013, the company announced it had developed an algorithm that 'reliably' solves modern Captchas - the world's most widely used test of a machine's ability to act human.
Captchas are used when filling in forms, for example, to make sure it's not being completed by a bot. This prevents people programming computers to buy a bulk load of gig tickets, for example.
In March, Elon Musk made an investment in San Francisco-based AI group Vicarious, along with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (right) and actor Ashton Kutcher (left)
As well as Vicarious, Musk was early investor in AI firm DeepMind, which was earlier this year acquired by Google for £400m ($678m).
Elon Musk's comments echo that of Professor Stephen Hawking who last month warned that humanity faces an uncertain future as technology learns to think for itself and adapt to its environment.
In an article written in the Independent, the renowned physicist discusses Jonny Depp's latest film Transcendence, which delves into a world where computers can surpass the abilities of humans.
Professor Hawking said dismissing the film as science fiction could be the 'worst mistake in history'.
Stephen Hawking has warned that artificial intelligence has the potential to be the downfall of mankind. 'Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history,' he said writing in the Independent. 'Unfortunately, it might also be the last'
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