Elon Musk Issues Warning about 'Humanoid Robots' in AI 'Age of Abundance'

Musk was speaking during a conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the end of a world-first AI summit in the UK. Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL/AFP
Musk was speaking during a conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the end of a world-first AI summit in the UK. Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL/AFP
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Elon Musk Issues Warning about 'Humanoid Robots' in AI 'Age of Abundance'

Musk was speaking during a conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the end of a world-first AI summit in the UK. Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL/AFP
Musk was speaking during a conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the end of a world-first AI summit in the UK. Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL/AFP

The owner of X Elon Musk on Thursday predicted the future with AI would be an "age of abundance" with a "universal high income" instead of a universal basic income but warned of "humanoid robots" that might chase humans.

Musk was speaking during a conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following a world-first AI summit at Bletchley Park in the UK, said AFP.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO said there would come a point when "no job is needed" in the one-to-one with Sunak which was held later in London.

Jobs instead would be just for those who wanted one for "personal satisfaction".

AI was like "a magic genie" that gives you any wishes you want, Musk added, quipping however that those fairy tales rarely end well.

"One of the future challenges is how do you find meaning in life?" he said.

Musk cautioned that "we should be quite concerned" about humanoid robots that "can follow you anywhere".

The tech billionaire stressed the importance of having a physical off switch.

"A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere," he said.

"It's something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they're not so friendly any more?"

Sunak responded that "we've all watched" movies about robots that end with the machines being switched off.

The two-day gathering at Bletchley wrapped up Thursday with Western governments and companies involved in so-called next generation "frontier" AI agreeing a new safety testing regime.



Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)

Alphabet's Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, a judge ruled on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech giant and paving the way for US antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its advertising products.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their ad inventory.

Antitrust enforcers failed to prove a separate claim that the company had a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, she wrote.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said Google will appeal the ruling.

"We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half," she said, adding that the company disagrees with the decision on its publisher tools. "Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective."

Google's shares were down around 2.1% at midday.

The decision clears the way for another hearing to determine what Google must do to restore competition in those markets, such as sell off parts of its business at another trial that has yet to be scheduled.

The DOJ has said that Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and ad exchange.

Google now faces the possibility of two US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. A judge in Washington will hold a trial next week on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

Google has previously explored selling off its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators, Reuters reported in September.

Brinkema oversaw a three-week trial last year on claims brought by the DOJ and a coalition of states.

Google used classic monopoly-building tactics of eliminating competitors through acquisitions, locking customers in to using its products, and controlling how transactions occurred in the online ad market, prosecutors said at trial.

Google argued the case focused on the past, when the company was still working on making its tools able to connect to competitors' products. Prosecutors also ignored competition from technology companies including Amazon.com and Comcast as digital ad spending shifted to apps and streaming video, Google's lawyer said.