Shots Fired, Elon Musk And Mark Zuckerberg Butt Heads Over Dangers Of AI

For those who may not have been following the trends in the tech industry, there is a growing rift between two major sides with regards to artificial intelligence. There are those who are optimistic about the idea while others are a bit cautious. Recently, things heated up with two prominent figures taking bites out of each other with Elon Musk saying Mark Zuckerberg has “limited understanding” of AI.

The Tesla CEO’s views regarding machines becoming too intelligent and powerful are well-documented. Musk wants to make sure that any AI developed will be limited in its capacity to learn and grow. In the latest spat between the two tech figures, it started because during a live broadcast, Zuckerberg recently called anyone proclaiming a doomsday scenario with regards to AIs “irresponsible.”

"I have pretty strong opinions on this," Zuckerberg said during the broadcast. "I'm really optimistic. I'm an optimistic person in general. I think you can build things and the world gets better. With AI especially, I'm really optimistic, and I think that people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios ... I don't understand it. It's really negative, and in some ways, I actually think it's pretty irresponsible."

In response, Musk sent out a Tweet that basically called out the Facebook boss on his knowledge regarding AI. Musk is usually known for his mild-mannered approach to things, which makes this deliberate statement jarring to some.

“I've talked to Mark about this [AI]. His understanding of the subject is limited,” Musk Tweeted.

Other machine learning experts have already made their voice heard on the topic, with many saying that AIs having human intelligence is still decades away. On that note, Musk is not the only influential figure who is cautioning people about the advancements of AI technology as noted physicist Stephen Hawking also said that super intelligent computers could spell the downfall of humanity.