What will artificial intelligence mean for the human race and for human life? It is a question vehemently argued over by scientists and businesspeople. A small cross-section of opinion from a few pessimists, optimists and realists alike.
“AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilisation, and I don’t think people fully appreciate that.”
Elon Musk, Entrepreneur and Investor
“The AI, big data is a threat to human beings. The AI and robots are going to kill a lot of jobs, because in the future, these will be done by machines.”
Jack Ma, CEO and Founder, Alibaba
“I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”
Stephen Hawking, Physicist
“One problem is that the term ‘killer robots’ makes people think of ‘Terminator’ which is still 50, 100 or more years away. But it is much simpler technologies, stupid AI and not smart AI that we need to worry about in the near future.”
Prof. Toby Walsh, University of New South Wales
“We live in a world that could become fraught with day-to-day hazards from the misuse of AI and we need to take ownership of the problems – because the risks are real.”
Dr Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Executive Director of Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
“It is time for an optimistic antidote to the doom and gloom we often hear regarding AI and the future of work. There is no passive forecast for the future of work – it will be what we make it, and that begins with imagination of what we want it to be.”
Martin Reeves, Director, BCG Henderson Institute
“AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as something more profound than electricity or fire. Artificial Intelligence will save us not destroy us.”
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
“Regulating AI can wait until we invent it. It’s not true that it will be too late by the time we create it. We have switches. They work.”
Reza Zadeh, CEO and Founder, Matroid
“If we want to close the demographic gap, we cannot leave anybody out. Robots, intelligent machines and software systems help people to work more productively.”
Dieter Spath, Co-Chair of Plattform Lernende Systeme, a digitalisation research venture launched by the German government
“AI promises to deliver benefits not only economically, but also in terms of business management: it enables employees to leave repetitive or hazardous tasks to computers and robots, and focus themselves on value-adding and interesting work.”
Harald Bauer, Senior Partner at McKinsey’s Frankfurt office
“Artificial Intelligence will change the way we live together, beyond a doubt. For our society, it is a case of welcoming the positive developments while preventing negative impacts.”
Hannes Schwaderer, President of Initiative D21, a network promoting the information society in Germany
“We must do everything we can to take advantage of AI’s potential for the digital society. It is not about an AI system coming to replace a police officer or a doctor. It is about intelligent systems doing work for them.”
Achim Berg, President of Bitkom, the German IT association
“AI is making advances in every aspect of our lives, such as health and well-being, transportation and education. However, there are also pressing concerns over the technology’s safety, trustworthiness, fairness and transparency that need to be addressed.”
Prof. Tony F. Chan, President, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology