Elon Musk wants to protect the world from out-of-control robots. On Thursday, it was announced that the billionaire behind SpaceX and Tesla donated $10 million to a research program run by the Future of Life Institute meant to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) benefits humanity. In the past, Musk has warned that AI could be "potentially more dangerous than nukes." Recently, he and a long list of researchers signed an open letter asking for "robust and beneficial" AI research that would be mindful of future consequences to humans. Musk isn't the only famous scientific mind worried about killer machines. In December, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking told the BBC that the "development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."
The $10 million will be given out as research grants. "You could certainly construct scenarios where the human race does not recover," Musk said. "When the risk is that severe, it seems like you should be proactive and not reactive."
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