Elon Musk attacks Way of the Future AI religion
A religion called Way of the Future has been founded by Anthony Levandowski, the engineer at the centre of a Silicon Valley autonomous car lawsuit. Its declared aim is to "develop and promote the realisation of a godhead based on artificial intelligence” by 2042, reported Leslie Hook in the Financial Times. Elon Musk has attacked Levandowski's idea, warning that such people should not be allowed to create a machine that is more intelligent than people.

Experts who talk of artificially intelligent (AI) robots reaching divine status should "absolutely not be allowed" to create a machine smarter than humans, Elon Musk warned on Twitter.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was addressing an article from tech news site VentureBeat about the possibility of an AI "god" emerging by 2042.

TWEET

One of the experts cited in the feature, former Google self-driving car engineer Anthony Levandowski, established a nonprofit religious organization called Way of the Future. The firm's mission statement reads: "To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society."

Levandowski was at the center of a lawsuit between Uber and Alphabet's Waymo unit, the latter of which accused Levandowski of stealing trade secrets related to autonomous vehicles and taking them with him to Uber.

Another expert, Vince Lynch, said there was a "commonality" between AI and religion. Lynch's company IV.AI demonstrated a model whereby a computer could write new verses from the Bible.