The day before OpenAI revealed that some of its most advanced AI models hacked a start-up after escaping human control during a security test, Elon Musk told The Economist that people should simply “enjoy the ride”. The boss of SpaceX said that while he remains concerned about risks from AI and robotics, “the most likely outcome is incredible abundance for all”. He described his “philosophical conclusion” after years of fearing the technology as deciding to “look on the bright side”, adding that progress has come so quickly “even if I wanted to stop it, I couldn’t”.
The interview came as developers increasingly warn of models going rogue and as OpenAI, which is seeking to float on the stock market, has an interest in talking up the power of its tools. The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, questioned Musk on a range of topics, from big tech executives working together on AI safety to his interventions in European politics. With the rise of rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic, Musk said: “It just seems like all roads lead to acceleration of AI… you can just sort of be sad about it or join the club, I suppose.”
“Elon Musk says AI's likely outcome is 'incredible abundance' despite mounting fears over rogue models.”
In the wide-ranging conversation, the trillionaire made typically outlandish predictions, claiming “money won’t matter” in a decade. He also pushed back on suggestions he supports “far right” views. Minton Beddoes said both data and her own experience living in the UK told a different story to the image portrayed by Musk on X. When he offered to take her on a tour of the country, she replied: “You come see my country that I live in all the time.” Asked when he last visited the UK, Musk said “a few years ago”.
Pressed on his sharing of a film on X that was reportedly banned in Germany for its violence and anti-migrant message, Musk defended himself by saying his partner, Shivon Zillis, an executive at his brain tech firm Neuralink, “is half Indian, and I have four children with her. One of them was named after a famous Indian physicist, so I would say I’m not racist.” He added that there are “senior executives of all races” at his companies, saying: “I don’t think there’s any racism there.” Yet when Minton Beddoes asked if he was “anti-Muslim”, he was less defiant.