ARTIFICIAL Intelligence must be regulated like food, drugs, aircraft and motor production, according to billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk.
Mr Musk has been vocal about his fears of robots and has described AI in the past as “humanity’s biggest existential threat.”
And he is now calling for the robotics industry to come under the scrutiny of a regulatory authority which could closely monitor developments within the sector.
In a tweet Mr Musk said: “Got to regulate AI/robotics like we do food, drugs, aircraft and cars.
“Public risks require public oversight. Getting rid of the Federal Aviation Administration wouldn’t make flying safer.
“They’re there for good reason.”
The entreprenuer believes companies which are investing heavily in AI development are doing so with the best intentions but fears scientists will become so engrossed in their work they will not realise what they are creating until it is too late.
In a previous interview he compared advances in AI technology to “summoning the demon”.
He said: “I think we should be very careful about Artificial Intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that.
“So we need to be very careful with Artificial Intelligence.
“I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.
“With Artificial Intelligence we’re summoning the demon.”
But some tech industry big-hitters have dismissed Mr Musk’s claims.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg branded them “hysterical” and argued AI is at too early a stage of development to merit regulation and oversight.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also has reservations about what AI might mean for humanity but is not calling for regulation.
He said: “The so-called control problem that Elon is worried about isn’t something that people should feel is imminent.”