Elon Musk Calls Artificial Intelligence Greatest Potential Breakthrough In Lifetime With Caveat: 'A Small Chance That AI Will Kill Us All'

Billionaire Elon Musk was recognized with The Breakthrough Prize over the weekend, which drew plenty of attention to his poses on the red carpet.

Musk also shared thoughts on the biggest breakthrough in our lifetime, thoughts on artificial intelligence and upcoming presidential elections.

What Happened: Musk is best known as the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and also the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. The investor and businessman can add The Breakthrough Prize to his list of accomplishments after a ceremony held over the weekend in Los Angeles, California.

Often awarded in the categories of "Fundamental Physics," "Life Sciences" and "Mathematics," The Breakthrough Prize is often nicknamed as the "Oscars of Science."

Musk was among the recipients at the 10^th annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony that saw honorees and stars turn out.

Along with posing for memeable images on the red carpet, Musk was asked by one YouTuber (Music & Medicine) about the greatest breakthrough he hopes to see in his lifetime.

Musk said life becoming multiplanetary is one of his biggest lifetime hopes.

The billionaire also said that artificial intelligence becoming smarter than the smartest human could be a breakthrough, as it would make any invention possible.

"Also a small chance that AI will kill us all," Musk said.

Musk emphasized that the most important aspects of training AI are ensuring it is as truthful as possible and maximally curious, adding that this approach will benefit humanity.

The billionaire said it's important for AI to be honest "even if that truth is unpopular."

Musk gave an example of Galileo once saying the Earth revolved around the Sun, which earned him labels of being a heretic since most people believed the Sun revolved around the Earth at the time.

To say the truth and know the truth, even if the truth is unpopular, is something Musk said AI models aren't trained to do yet.

Musk was also asked on the red carpet who he thought would win the 2024 presidential election. The billionaire side stepped the question and provided an artificial intelligence-themed question of his own.

"Who do you think will win the White House in 2032? Which type of AI, transformers or diffusion?"

Related Link: Elon Musk Is Currently On A Crusade Against ‘Diluted’ Oscars: ‘It No Longer Commands Respect’

Why It's Important: Not one to shy away from providing his thoughts on trending topics, Musk's latest comments show his expectations for artificial intelligence.

The billionaire believes in his lifetime that artificial intelligence could become smarter than the smartest human.

While the 2032 presidential election is eight years away, Musk's prediction could provide a warning of how advanced artificial intelligence could become in the years ahead.

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Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.