Elon Musk (1971–) is an American businessman and inventor.
Elon Musk is an engineer, entrepreneur, and inventor who was born in South Africa.
He is a dual citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the United States, and resides in California.
Musk is widely regarded as one of the most prominent inventors and engineers of the twenty-first century, as well as an important influencer and contributor to the development of artificial intelligence.
Despite his controversial personality, Musk is widely regarded as one of the most prominent inventors and engineers of the twenty-first century and an important influencer and contributor to the development of artificial intelligence.
Musk's business instincts and remarkable technological talent were evident from an early age.
By the age of 10, he had self-taught himself how program computers, and by the age of twelve, he had produced a video game and sold the source code to a computer magazine.
Musk has included allusions to some of his favorite novels in SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launch and Tesla's software since he was a youngster.
Musk's official schooling was centered on economics and physics rather than engineering, interests that are mirrored in his subsequent work, such as his efforts in renewable energy and space exploration.
He began his education at Queen's University in Canada, but later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned bachelor's degrees in Economics and Physics.
Musk barely stayed at Stanford University for two days to seek a PhD in energy physics before departing to start his first firm, Zip2, with his brother Kimbal Musk.
Musk has started or cofounded many firms, including three different billion-dollar enterprises: SpaceX, Tesla, and PayPal, all driven by his diverse interests and goals.
• Zip2 was a web software business that was eventually purchased by Compaq.
• X.com: an online bank that merged with PayPal to become the online payments corporation PayPal.
• Tesla, Inc.: an electric car and solar panel maker
• SpaceX: a commercial aircraft manufacturer and space transportation services provider (via its subsidiarity SolarCity)
• Neuralink: a neurotechnology startup focusing on brain-computer connections
• The Boring Business: an infrastructure and tunnel construction corporation
• OpenAI: a nonprofit AI research company focused on the promotion and development of friendly AI Musk is a supporter of environmentally friendly energy and consumption.
Concerns over the planet's future habitability prompted him to investigate the potential of establishing a self-sustaining human colony on Mars.
Other projects include the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system, and the Musk electric jet, a jet-powered supersonic electric aircraft.
Musk sat on President Donald Trump's Strategy and Policy Forum and Manufacturing Jobs Initiative for a short time before stepping out when the US withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Musk launched the Musk Foundation in 2002, which funds and supports research and activism in the domains of renewable energy, human space exploration, pediatric research, and science and engineering education.
Musk's effect on AI is significant, despite his best-known work with Tesla and SpaceX, as well as his contentious social media pronouncements.
In 2015, Musk cofounded the charity OpenAI with the objective of creating and supporting "friendly AI," or AI that is created, deployed, and utilized in a manner that benefits mankind as a whole.
OpenAI's objective is to make AI open and accessible to the general public, reducing the risks of AI being controlled by a few privileged people.
OpenAI is especially concerned about the possibility of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which is broadly defined as AI capable of human-level (or greater) performance on any intellectual task, and ensuring that any such AGI is developed responsibly, transparently, and distributed evenly and openly.
OpenAI has had its own successes in taking AI to new levels while staying true to its goals of keeping AI friendly and open.
In June of 2018, a team of OpenAI-built robots defeated a human team in the video game Dota 2, a feat that could only be accomplished through robot teamwork and collaboration.
Bill Gates, a cofounder of Microsoft, praised the achievement on Twitter, calling it "a huge milestone in advancing artificial intelligence" (@BillGates, June 26, 2018).
Musk resigned away from the OpenAI board in February 2018 to prevent any conflicts of interest while Tesla advanced its AI work for autonomous driving.
Musk became the CEO of Tesla in 2008 after cofounding the company in 2003 as an investor.
Musk was the chairman of Tesla's board of directors until 2018, when he stepped down as part of a deal with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over Musk's false claims about taking the company private.
Tesla produces electric automobiles with self-driving capabilities.
Tesla Grohmann Automation and Solar City, two of its subsidiaries, offer relevant automotive technology and manufacturing services and solar energy services, respectively.
Tesla, according to Musk, will reach Level 5 autonomous driving capabilities in 2019, as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) five levels of autonomous driving.
Tes la's aggressive development with autonomous driving has influenced conventional car makers' attitudes toward electric cars and autonomous driving, and prompted a congressional assessment of how and when the technology should be regulated.
Musk is widely credited as a key influencer in moving the automotive industry toward autonomous driving, highlighting the benefits of autonomous vehicles (including reduced fatalities in vehicle crashes, increased worker productivity, increased transportation efficiency, and job creation) and demonstrating that the technology is achievable in the near term.
Tesla's autonomous driving code has been created and enhanced under the guidance of Musk and Tesla's Director of AI, Andrej Karpathy (Autopilot).
The computer vision analysis used by Tesla, which includes an array of cameras on each car and real-time image processing, enables the system to make real-time observations and predictions.
The cameras, as well as other exterior and internal sensors, capture a large quantity of data, which is evaluated and utilized to improve Autopilot programming.
Tesla is the only autonomous car maker that is opposed to the LIDAR laser sensor (an acronym for light detection and ranging).
Tesla uses cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors instead.
Though academics and manufacturers disagree on whether LIDAR is required for fully autonomous driving, the high cost of LIDAR has limited Tesla's rivals' ability to produce and sell vehicles at a pricing range that allows a large number of cars on the road to gather data.
Tesla is creating its own AI hardware in addition to its AI programming.
Musk stated in late 2017 that Tesla is building its own silicon for artificial-intelligence calculations, allowing the company to construct its own AI processors rather than depending on third-party sources like Nvidia.
Tesla's AI progress in autonomous driving has been marred by setbacks.
Tesla has consistently missed self-imposed deadlines, and serious accidents have been blamed on flaws in the vehicle's Autopilot mode, including a non-injury accident in 2018, in which the vehicle failed to detect a parked firetruck on a California freeway, and a fatal accident in 2018, in which the vehicle failed to detect a pedestrian outside a crosswalk.
Neuralink was established by Musk in 2016.
With the stated objective of helping humans to keep up with AI breakthroughs, Neuralink is focused on creating devices that can be implanted into the human brain to better facilitate communication between the brain and software.
Musk has characterized the gadgets as a more efficient interface with computer equipment, while people now operate things with their fingertips and voice commands, directives would instead come straight from the brain.
Though Musk has made major advances to AI, his pronouncements regarding the risks linked with AI have been apocalyptic.
Musk has called AI "humanity's greatest existential danger" and "the greatest peril we face as a civilisation" (McFarland 2014).
(Morris 2017).
He cautions against the perils of power concentration, a lack of independent control, and a competitive rush to acceptance without appropriate analysis of the repercussions.
While Musk has used colorful terminology such as "summoning the devil" (McFarland 2014) and depictions of cyborg overlords, he has also warned of more immediate and realistic concerns such as job losses and AI-driven misinformation campaigns.
Though Musk's statements might come out as alarmist, many important and well-respected figures, including as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Swedish-American scientist Max Tegmark, and the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, share his concern.
Furthermore, Musk does not call for the cessation of AI research.
Instead, Musk supports for responsible AI development and regulation, including the formation of a Congressional committee to spend years studying AI with the goal of better understanding the technology and its hazards before establishing suitable legal limits.
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You may also want to read more about Artificial Intelligence here.
See also:
Bostrom, Nick; Superintelligence.
References & Further Reading:
Gates, Bill. (@BillGates). 2018. Twitter, June 26, 2018. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1011752221376036864.
Marr, Bernard. 2018. “The Amazing Ways Tesla Is Using Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.” Forbes, January 8, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/01/08/the-amazing-ways-tesla-is-using-artificial-intelligence-and-big-data/.
McFarland, Matt. 2014. “Elon Musk: With Artificial Intelligence, We Are Summoning the Demon.” Washington Post, October 24, 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/10/24/elon-musk-with-artificial-intelligence-we-are-summoning-the-demon/.
Morris, David Z. 2017. “Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization.’” Fortune, July 15, 2017. https://fortune.com/2017/07/15/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-2/.
Piper, Kelsey. 2018. “Why Elon Musk Fears Artificial Intelligence.” Vox Media, November 2, 2018. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/11/2/18053418/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-google-deepmind-openai.
Strauss, Neil. 2017. “Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow.” Rolling Stone, November 15, 2017. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/elon-musk-the-architect-of-tomorrow-120850/.
