Silicon Valley Is Turning Into Its Own Worst Fear
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This summer, Elon Musk spoke to the National Governors Association and told them that “AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.” Doomsayers have been issuing similar warnings for some time, but never before have they commanded so much visibility. Musk isn’t necessarily worried about the rise of a malicious computer like Skynet from The Terminator. Speaking to Maureen Dowd for a Vanity Fair article published in April, Musk gave an example of an artificial intelligence that’s given the task of picking strawberries. It seems harmless enough, but as the AI redesigns itself to be more effective, it might decide that the best way to maximize its output would be to destroy civilization and convert the entire surface of the Earth into strawberry fields. Thus, in its pursuit of a seemingly innocuous goal, an AI could bring about the extinction of humanity purely as an unintended side effect.
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About this essay
Examination of tech industry anxieties about AI through the lens of science fiction.
“Silicon Valley Is Turning Into Its Own Worst Fear” was written by Ted Chiang. Read the original at buzzfeednews.com. Copywork shows the text so you can practice by retyping it word for word; all rights stay with the author.