Predicting a crisis
Don’t we all love knowing what there’s in the future for us? The good and the bad? Do we get a sense of security, like we are prepared to face anything that comes our way? The go-to person lately for these types of predictions is none other than Elon Musk. However optimistic he might be about the future -he believes that, “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”- there are certainly some aspects of it he finds that might be threatening and possibly changing our lives drastically.
Having been a person that has brought disruptive advances, he has worked in various areas crucial to the future like the Internet, transition to renewable energy sources and space colonization and his words hold a significant weight when it comes to presenting us with possible future threats. And his certainty that these will come sooner than we ever thought surely doesn’t go unnoticed.
Undeniably, for Elon Musk “the future is gonna be weird” but what exactly does he think will happen to make it so?
The two major threats that humanity is starting to face are climate change and AI/robot takeover. The former, he thinks, is a threat everyone in the scientific community is certain of and it’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly judging from the detrimental effects that it has.
As far as AI takeover is concerned, Musk has very strong views and is certain that, however slow he might want to take it with Tesla, it will come sooner or later, with or without Tesla’s contribution. He is adamant about governors placing restrictions on AI to ensure its safe and ethical development, because the biggest mistake would be leaving such technology unchecked. The chances of AI outperforming its creators makes Elon Musk believe that “With Tesla, I’ve got a lot more ability to ensure robotics safety and A.I. I’ll try my best to do that”.
This shift to the technological and automated will subsequently change the way humans function as well with our communication, changing to a non-verbal and non-physical form. Data, like languages and memories, and consciousness would be easily saved and transferred with a simple download, even from human to robot, which generates the question if this will also change the meaning of death.
Another challenge will be the doubling of energy demand in the coming years and an imminent energy crisis. “If we shift all transport to electric, the demand more than doubles. This is going to create a lot of challenges in the grid”, hence we should look for alternatives in nuclear energy and solar paneling. Last but surely not least, the ever declining birthrate is one of the biggest risks our civilization is going to have to face, according to Musk.
There are definitely aspects of the future that will change for the better and new options that will be unlocked but a person with such knowledge and power as Elon Musk should ring the alarm bell to be prepared and take preventive measures. At this point we can’t help but think, is becoming a multi-planet species an ultimate solution of sorts?
SOURCES:
Betty Tsakarestou, Mania Xenou
COLAB team members: Despoina Fragou, Angeliki Kyriazi, GeorgiannaChondrou, Angeliki Valeri
