Elon Musk thinks an AI arms race will cause World War III

If all the Korean saber-rattling has you worried about the onset of World War III, take heart: Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk thinks it's actually going to start for a different reason. In a series of tweets posted Monday morning, Musk shared his opinion that an artificial intelligence (AI) arms race would be the cause of the next global war:

Musk's initial tweet referenced an article from The Verge quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the value of AI for military power. "Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind," Putin said. "It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world."

In responses to other Twitter users, Musk weighed in on the North Korea situation, too, arguing that because Pyongyang is politically isolated and a nuclear strike would be "suicide" for the Kim Jong Un regime, the AI route to world war is more likely. Musk backs a campaign for a United Nations ban on lethal autonomous weapons.

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