Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma and Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday sparred about the danger to humankind presented by artificial intelligence (AI) during a lively debate that marked the opening of the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
Musk told the audience that computers are becoming smarter than humans in more and more spheres. He asserts this trend will continue to the detriment of humankind.
"We will be far, far surpassed in every single way. I guarantee it," said Musk to Ma.
To buttress this contention, Musk cited advances in chess and the Chinese board game of Go where algorithms designed to beat humans -- which they did -- as evidence of the progress AI is making in its own form of "thinking."
"Your cell phone could crush the world champion of chess, literally," argued Musk.
Musk then talked about how in the future technology from Neuralink Corporation, a start-up he co-founded, could give people a way to boost their skills in certain subjects.
The company will use AI to augment people's cognitive capabilities with brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). Neuralink was founded by Musk and others in 2016 to develop implantable BMI. It intends to start BMI trials on humans in 2020.
"The first thing we should assume is we are very dumb," according to Musk. "We can definitely make things smarter than ourselves."
He also disagreed with Ma as to whether humans can create things that could outsmart us.
On the other hand, Ma downplayed the existential threat posed by AI and said a computer has never spawned a human being, or even a mosquito.
"I've never in my life, especially [in the] last two years, when people talk about AI, human beings will be controlled by machines," said Ma. "I never think about that. It's impossible."
Ma said he doesn't want to play chess or Go against an AI. These games were designed for people to play against each other, he said.
"I'll be happy to see two computers fight each other," said Ma.
Organizers said WAIC 2019 won't focus solely only on jargon like "algorithms" and "adversarial networks." Participants will discuss ways in which AI can be integrated in daily life, in industries while helping transform countries.
"Artificial intelligence has become a core driving force for the new round of industrial transformation and is exerting a profound impact on the world's economy, social progress and human life," said Wu Jincheng, chairman of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Development.
Wu called the event "a top-level global stage for AI industry development and technology innovation."
WAIC's theme is "Intelligent Connectivity, Infinite Possibilities." WAIC will be held at the Pudong New Area and the Xuhui District.
More than 400 exhibitors will showcase the latest in AI technologies and applications. All WAIC venues will offer 5G connections. 5G provides Internet speeds up to 50 times faster than 4G networks.
The conference is expected to attract 200,000 visitors, including 70,000 professionals, according to the organizers.
