Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk believes artificial intelligence (AI) could become smarter than the combined intelligence of all humans within the next five years, saying the technology is advancing so rapidly that it may no longer be possible to stop.
Speaking in an interview with The Economist, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said AI is on track to outperform humans in almost every field, with the only exception being the unique experience of being human.
“I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in around five years. There really won’t be anything that AI can’t do better than humans, apart from being human, perhaps,” Musk said.
Despite long warning about the risks of artificial intelligence, Musk expressed optimism that the technology could usher in an era of extraordinary abundance, where people can easily access solutions to many of life’s challenges.
“The most likely outcome is an age of amazing abundance, where anyone can have anything they can think of. This may sound preposterous, but here we are in 2026. Let’s see where we stand in 2036,” he added.
Musk acknowledged that AI and robotics still pose potential risks but said their rapid development has become too powerful for any individual, company or government to halt.
“I still think there’s risk associated with AI and robots. It’s not zero. I can’t see any way to really stop this incredible momentum of AI and robots,” he said.
He added that he has accepted the reality of AI’s rapid progress.
“Let’s enjoy the ride is my philosophy at this point, because there seems to be just an inexorable progress here in AI and in robots,” Musk said.
The billionaire also renewed his call for greater cooperation among leading AI companies, suggesting that competing firms should hold regular meetings to assess the safety of new AI systems before releasing them to the public.
According to him, such collaboration would help companies identify potential security risks and keep one another accountable.
“The competitors can keep each other honest,” Musk said.
He also noted that the pace of AI innovation has become so fast that major breakthroughs are now being announced almost every day.
However, not everyone agrees with Musk’s prediction. Several artificial intelligence experts argue that today’s AI systems still lack the ability to fully understand, reason and replicate the complexity of human intelligence.
While opinions remain divided, the debate over the future of artificial intelligence continues as technology evolves at an unprecedented pace.
Source: The Economist.
