US President Donald Trump described Elon Musk as “80% super genius“, adding that the remaining 20% has problems. He made his comment at a rally in Arizona on October 14 and called the head of Tesla and SpaceX “a great person“.
“Elon is 80% super genius, and 20% of the time he makes mistakes”, said Trump, quoted by the American media outlet Mediaite. This is the president's latest public assessment of Musk, with whom he has had periods of closeness and public disagreements in recent years.
Musk: Artificial Intelligence Could Be a Threat
Meanwhile, Musk spoke about the risks of artificial intelligence on the podcast The Builders, hosted by American journalist and author Walter Isaacson. The interview was recorded on August 6, and the episode was published on October 20.
“There is some possibility that this is an existential threat“, Musk said, speaking about the possibility that artificial intelligence could threaten the future of humanity. However, he said he does not see how he can stop the development of the technology.
“I have two choices: be a participant or an observer. Participation is more interesting.“Musk explained that it was this understanding that led him to actively participate in the race to create and develop artificial intelligence systems. In the conversation, he also discussed the possibility that humans would lose control if these systems became significantly more intelligent than them.
A future without traditional money
Musk linked the development of artificial intelligence and robots to a possible change in the economic system itself. According to him, automated machines can produce goods and services on a scale at which traditional money will gradually lose its role.
Instead of currencies, the future economy could be based on physical indicators such as power, mass and energy. Musk sees space as part of this process, as expanding manufacturing and energy systems beyond Earth would increase the resources available to artificial intelligence and robotics.
Sources: mediaite.com, axios.com, teslanorth.com