Elon Musk Says We're All "Cyborgs" & Probably All Characters in a Video Game

During this week’s Code Conference 2016, Elon Musk offered some interesting insight into his views on how to survive the rise of AI, if at all. Talking to Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, Musk admitted he’d thought a lot about the idea that we’re all merely participants in one big simulation.

“The strongest argument for us being in a simulation probably is the following. Forty years ago we had pong. Like, two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were. Now, 40 years later, we have photo realistic, 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously, and it’s getting better every year. Soon we’ll have virtual reality, augmented reality.

If you assume any rate of improvement at all, then the games will become indistinguishable from reality, even if that rate of advancement drops by a thousand from what it is now.”

Musk further claims that, as a species, we’ve already turned into “cyborgs,” citing the world’s access to smartphones and personal computers.

“You have a digital version of yourself, a partial version of yourself online in the form of your emails, your social media, and all the things that you do. We already have ‘super powers.’ You have more power than the president of the United States had 20 years ago. You can answer any question, you can video conference with anyone, anywhere. You can send messages to millions of people instantly. Just do incredible things.”

The constraint lies within input/output, according to the SpaceX founder. As a solution, he suggests a “neural lace,” a way to symbiotically merge with digital intelligence.

“Implanted via injection, a grid of wires only a few millimeters across can insinuate itself with living neurons and eavesdrop on their chatter, offering a way for electronics to interface with your brain activity.”

In case we fail, he predicts that humanity will face the “benign” scenario.

“If you assume any rate of advancement in AI, we’ll be left behind, by a lot. We would be so far below them in intelligence that we would be like a pet. Like a house cat.”

Just some food for thought here.