Zuckerberg, Musk in tiff over artificial intelligence

It’s rare to hear someone question Mark Zuckerberg’s comprehension skills.

The Facebook chief executive and social media icon is frequently lauded for his critical thinking and global vision. Yet on Tuesday, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet that Zuckerberg’s understanding of the threat posted by artificial intelligence “is limited.”

Musk’s tweet was a response to a Facebook live broadcast that Zuckerberg did Sunday in which he was asked about Musk’s strident warnings surrounding AI. Musk wrote, “I’ve talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited.” Without mentioning Musk by name, Zuckerberg called such warnings “really negative” and “pretty irresponsible.”

Zuckerberg was asked about economic opportunity and the future of AI. He pointed out some of the ways in which he believes AI can save lives, such as helping to enhance the safety of selfdriving cars and to diagnose medical conditions.

“But people who are arguing for slowing down the process of building AI, I just find that really questionable,” he added. “If you’re arguing against AI, then you’re arguing against safer cars that aren’t going to have accidents and you’re arguing against being able to better diagnose people when they’re sick.”

Musk has been warning for years about the risk posed by AI, calling it a “fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.”