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On AI
AI is the greatest risk we face today
Elon Musk has sounded off on AI various times, and how it can pose a massive threat to the world. At a meeting of the nationâs governors, Elon Musk warned that artificial intelligence was âthe greatest risk we face as a civilizationâ. As a result of his deep involvement in the tech industry, Elon Musk said he â[has] access to the very most cutting edge AI,â and that âpeople should be really concerned about it.â
Musk also apparently believes that Google is âbuilding a fleet of artificial-intelligence-enhanced robots capable of destroying mankind.â In a tweet, Elon Musk stated that AI was âpotentially more dangerous than nukesâ.
AI should be regulated
At the same meeting, Musk stated that he believes AI is one of the few fields where regulation is necessary:
âAIâs a rare case where we need to be proactive in regulation, instead of reactive. Because by the time we are reactive with AI regulation, itâs too late.âAI could be used in war
Elon Musk is also concerned that AI can be used in a warfare scenario, by being able to create massive amounts of fake news (i.e. in a propaganda scheme to push a certain ideology), fake press releases, and manipulating information in general. Musk believes âThe pen is mightier than the sword.â
In some ways, we are already seeing this take place. For example, weâre seeing this with the infamous âdeepfakesâ. Deepfakes are manipulated videos that make it so that a person appears to do/say something that they did not actually do/say in reality. An example of this sort of thing in action can be found HERE, in which a video is manipulated to make former U.S. President Barack Obama appear to say things that he did not actually say.
On Simulation Theory
Thereâs a very small chance we donât live in a simulation
Elon Musk has said âThereâs a billion to one chance weâre living in base reality.â
âIf you assume any rate of improvement at all then games will become indistinguishable from reality⊠Even if that rate of advancement drops by a thousand from what it is now, letâs just imagine itâs 10,000 years in the future, which is nothing on the evolutionary scaleâDonât talk about simulation theory in the hot tub
Elon Musk says that heâs thought about the idea that weâre in a simulation âeven in hot tubs. So much so that [the conversation] had to be banned from a hot tub. Itâs not the sexiest conversation.â
On Colonizing Mars
Mars isnât a bad place to die
Elon Musk once said that he wants to die on mars, just not on impact. When asked to clarify his views, he said âIf youâre going to choose a place to die, then Mars is probably, you know, not a bad choice. Itâs not a Martian death wish. But to be born on Earth, die on Mars. [Thatâs] pretty good.â
On Having Kids
You should have some
Elon Musk said, âKids are great. You guys should all have kids! I donât see mine enough actually. What I find is Iâm able to be with them and still be on e-mail. I can be with them and still be working at the same time.â
With that being said, being the executive of three different companies and the father of five kids isnât exactly easy. Heâs said that heâd like to âtake it down a scootchâ and that his new yearâs resolution was to have more fun.
On Social Media
Excessive social media use can lead to sadness
In one portion of Joe Roganâs interview with Elon Musk (which you should check out if you havenât already), Musk says:
âPeople look like they have a much better life than they really doâŠPeople are posting pictures of when theyâre really happy, theyâre modifying those pictures to be better looking. Even if theyâre not modifying the pictures theyâre at least selecting the pictures for the best lighting, the best angle.So people basically seem way better looking than they really are, and theyâre way happier seeming than they really are. So if you look at everyone on Instagram you might think âman, there are all these happy, beautiful people and Iâm not that good looking and Iâm not happy so I must suckâ. Thatâs going to make people sadâPeople look happier on social media than they actually are
In the interview, Elon Musk continued by saying, âThose people you think are super happy are actually not that happy. Some of them are really depressed, theyâre very sad. Some of the happiest seeming people [are] actually some of the saddest people in reality.â
Spend more time with friends instead of using social media
âThis may sound corny,â Elon says, âbut love is the answer⊠Wouldnât hurt to have more love in the world⊠We should do that. Like, really⊠Spend more time with your friends and less time on social mediaâ
On Having A Positive Impact
Make things that people love
Elon Musk continues by saying, âWith Tesla we try to make things that people love⊠How many things can you buy that you really love that really give you joy? So rare, so rare. I wish there more things. Thatâs what weâre trying to do [at Tesla]. Make things that somebody loves. Thatâs so difficultâ
Elonâs long-term goal
In the same interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk what his ultimate goal (i.e. purpose) is in his life:
âMy goal is to try to do useful things, try to maximize the probability the future is good, [and] make the future exciting. Something you look forward to.âOn Having A Purpose
Elon Musk says later on in the interview, âThere need to be things that make you look forward to waking up in the morning. You wake up in the morning you look forward to the day, forward to the future.â
On How To Think
Reason by first principles, not analogy
Elon Musk has said that instead of using analogies to think about things (e.g. Weâre making a product X that is similar to Y). Using analogies to think about problems causes only slight iterations in solutions. So why are analogies often used? According to Musk, thinking from analogy is significantly easier than thinking from first principles. What is first principle thinking?
âWhat it really means is you boil things down to the most fundamental truths and say, ok, what are we sure is true? Or weâre sure is possible is true? Then reason up from there.â
On Taking Risks
Take risks when youâre young
At a USC commencement speech, Elon Musk spoke about why taking risks when youâre young is so incredibly important:
âNow is the time to take risks. You donât have kids, but as you get older, your obligations increase. And once you have a family, you start taking risks not only for yourself, but for your family as well. It gets much harder to do things that might not work out. So now is the time to do that, before you have those obligations. So I would encourage you to take risks now. Do something bold. You wonât regret it.âDo meaningful things even if itâs risky
Elon Musk has said that he always aims to do âwhatever action I can to ensure that the future is good⊠At the beginning I thought Tesla and SpaceX maybe had a 10 percent chance at successâ
Although both SpaceX and Tesla seemingly had small chances of actually succeeding, theyâre now in a position where theyâve created products that users love (especially with Tesla). If something is important, you shouldnât be spending time doing the calculus on the chances of succeeding.
On Running AÂ Company
Donât focus on the money
In an interview with INC Magazine, Elon Musk said:
âWhen I started the first internet company, Zip2, with my brother and another person, Greg Curry, it wasnât really with the thought of being wealthy. I have nothing against being wealthy, it was just from the standpoint of wanting to be part of the internet. I figured if we could make enough money to just get by, that would be okay. When we started off, we literally only had one computer, so it would be our web server during the day, and Iâd be coding at night. And we just got a small office, in Palo Alto back when rent was not insane, um, and it cost us like $350 a month. It was cheaper than an apartment, so we just slept in the office, and then showered at the YMCA on Page Mill & El Camino. So weâd walk over there and shower.âStarting a company is REALLY difficult
Musk has said that running âStarting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss. You have to do lots of things you donât like.â
He also thinks that our brains arenât equipped to handle the death of a company, and that itâs similar to the death of a person to our brains:
You have to put in incredible amounts of efforts and huge amounts of stressâââand itâs much more painful than most people realize. And most companies die. On a certain level in your brain, your brainâââwe didnât evolve, like, with companies; we evolved to respond to real death. And even though a companyâs death is not real, itâs not like someone is physically dying, your brain doesnât quite understand that on the limbic system level. So itâs really sort of painfully stressful. You probably donât want to go through that more than once.
Some Lessons From Elon Musk was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.