Elon Musk has revealed what he thinks will bring about the end of artificial intelligence (AI) on Earth.
The billionaire said that he believes there is only one way that the technology, which now makes up a significant part of the US economy, can continue to expand.
AI is based around a large infrastructure of databases and servers, which require a huge amount of power to run.
Some have even expressed concern that the price of RAM hard drives is increasing due to the soaring demand for the hardware from AI companies.
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But Musk has now come out with his prediction for what might happen in order to allow for AI to continue growing, saying on a recent podcast there are just 'months' left in order to enact this plan.
Speaking on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Musk suggested that the only way to ensure AI systems get the power they need to function on a larger scale is put them in space instead of here on Earth.
“My prediction is that by far the cheapest place to put AI will be space in 36 months or less, maybe 30 months,” he said. “Less than 36 months, mark my words.”
The Tesla boss claimed that the amount of energy needed for AI means that it would be difficult to generate it on Earth.
“All of the United States currently uses only about half a terawatt of power on average,” Musk said. “Imagine trying to build enough power plants to double that. People don’t realize how hard that actually is.”
His argument was that by putting the AI in space, it could use solar cells.
“Solar cells are already very cheap, around 25 to 30 cents a watt in China,” he continued. “Put them in space and it’s effectively 10 times cheaper because you don’t need batteries.”
In a confident prediction, Musk said: “We will be launching and operating more AI in space every year than the cumulative total on Earth.”
He went on to add: “You start thinking in terms of what percentage of the Sun’s power you’re harnessing. Then you realize you have to go to space. You can’t scale very much on Earth.”
AI has become a subject of widespread controversy, with many highlighting the great strain it places on power grids and the amount of water required to keep servers running.
Generative AI in particular has come under the spotlight, with critics saying that it only works by regurgitating the work of human artists.
Meanwhile, Grok, the AI model used on Musk's platform X, sparked outrage after users prompted it to digitally 'nudify' images of women and children on the social media platform - something Musk himself has addressed.
As investors continue to plough billions of dollars into AI development, we'll just have to wait and see if Musk's prediction comes true.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, Technology, Space
Kit Roberts