Neuralink, founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, is developing brain-computer interfaces. These interfaces could augment a user’s intelligence by connecting their brain to an artificial intelligence extension of oneself, according to Mr. Musk.
“The purpose of Neuralink [is] to create a high-bandwidth interface to the brain such that we can be symbiotic with AI,” Mr. Musk said on stand-up comedian Mr. Rogan’s podcast. “How much smarter are you with a phone or computer than without? You’re vastly smarter, actually. You can answer any question pretty much instantly.”
“I think we’ll have something interesting to announce in a few months that’s at least an order of magnitude better than anything else — probably than anyone thinks is possible,” he continued.
Mr. Musk suggested augmenting one’s brain with AI posed a brighter future than the alternative — being replaced by AI.
“You’re currently in a symbiotic relationship with your cortex and limbic system,” he said, explaining his vision for Neuralink. “Best-case scenario, we effectively merge with AI, where AI serves as a tertiary cognition layer. It will enable anyone who wants to have superhuman cognition.”
Mr. Musk has been vocal about his concerns regarding AI in recent years, a view which Mr. Rogan described as “fatalistic” during the podcast.
In August 2017, Mr. Musk made headlines after he posted a series of tweets arguing AI posed “vastly more risk than North Korea.” Earlier in 2017, he suggested the technology would result in job losses as robots “will be able to do everything better than us.”
“I tried to convince people to slow down AI, to regulate AI, but this was futile. I tried for years. Nobody listened,” he told Mr. Rogan on the podcast. “Normally the way regulations work is very slow. This time frame is not relevant to AI. You can’t take 10 years from the point at which it’s dangerous.”
“The merge scenario with AI is the one that seems like probably the best,” he added. “If you can’t beat it, join it.”
To watch Mr. Musk’s appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” YouTube channel, click here. Mr. Musk discusses AI around the 20-minute mark.
More articles on artificial intelligence:
Director of analytics tops list of top-paying AI jobs
Indiana U School of Medicine partners with Fujifilm for AI research
Dr. Eric Topol turns critical eye on landmark FDA-approved AI device
