Deep AI Vs. Automation

In an apparent attempt at a joke, a Twitter user sent a Business Insider tweet featuring a driverless Tesla car to Elon Musk, asking him to confirm that the development in “humanless automation” would not result in a “robotic apocalypse.” Musk replied via tweet, reaffirming his oft-repeated position that it is not automation per se, but deep AI, that poses more of an “apocalyptic” risk to humanity:

Disruption certainly. Deep AI is the real risk, though, not automation. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2017

Disruption may cause us discomfort, but it’s not a threat in and of itself. However, Musk and others do see the potential for deep AI to be world-shattering, at least for humans.