Elon Musk 'exactly wrong' on AI: Ex-Google chief
San Francisco, May 26 : Tesla and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk's skepticism about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on human beings is "exactly wrong," former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said.
Musk thinks that AI is bad for humanity and may spark World War III. "I think Elon is exactly wrong" about AI, Schmidt said during the "VivaTech" conference in Paris on Friday.
"Musk is concerned about the possible misuse of this technology and I am too but I am more convinced by the overwhelming benefit of AI," tech website CNET quoted Schmidt as saying.
"AI will make people smarter and this will be a net gain," said Schmidt who is currently a board member of Alphabet, Google's parent company.
Earlier, during the same event, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - who has been in verbal spat with Musk over AI for long -- expressed optimism about the possibilities of AI.
"I think that AI is going to unlock a huge amount of positive things, whether that's helping to identify and cure diseases, to help cars drive more safely, to help keep our communities safe," he was quoted as saying.
Mush recently warned that if not regulated or controlled soon, AI will become an "immortal dictator" and there will be no escape for humans.
"At least when there's an evil dictator, that human is going to die. But for an AI there would be no death. It would live forever, and then you'd have an immortal dictator, from which we could never escape," he said in a new documentary titled "Do You Trust This Computer?"
Musk has always been a critic of AI and asked for stiff regulations to curb the technology. In a recent tweet, Musk said that people should be more concerned with AI than the risk posed by North Korea.
"If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea," Musk tweeted.
Musk has also quit the board of OpenAI, a non-profit AI research company he co-founded that aims to promote and develop friendly AI that benefits the humanity.
In a recent public spat with Zuckerberg, Musk said: "I've talked to Mark about this (AI). His understanding of the subject is limited".
Zuckerberg replied: "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios -- I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible."
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India denied Pope Francis’ visit, say Bishops; ‘government did not open the door’
New Delhi: Following the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88, senior Indian bishops have expressed sorrow not only over his passing but also over what they describe as a missed opportunity for India, reported Maktoob Media.
According to Delhi Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto and Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil, the Indian government repeatedly failed to grant permission for the Pope's long-awaited visit, despite consistent interest from the Vatican.
“He too was waiting,” said Archbishop Couto. “Five years ago, he had said, ‘I am knocking on the doors of your government, but they are not opening the doors to me.’ Now maybe God has opened the doors for him in heaven.” His words echoed deep regret that India never hosted the late pontiff, who had made clear his intention to visit the country.
Bishop Inchananiyil reinforced the sentiment, stating, “The Pope had a special desire to visit India. Unfortunately, our doors did not open. That caused him great sorrow.”
The Pope’s unfulfilled visit has drawn renewed scrutiny toward the Indian government’s apparent reluctance, despite earlier gestures suggesting otherwise. At the G7 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had publicly extended an invitation to Pope Francis, and Union Minister George Kurien had emphasized that both the Indian state and the Christian community were awaiting his visit. However, the formal diplomatic process that would enable such a trip never reached fruition.
India has not hosted a papal visit in over 25 years. The last visit was by Pope John Paul II in 1999, who also made a significant trip in 1986. Prior to that, Pope Paul VI had visited Mumbai in 1964 for the International Eucharistic Congress, marking the first-ever papal visit to the country.
Despite India being home to one of the largest Catholic populations in Asia greater than in many Christian-majority nations such as East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore the late pontiff was never able to set foot on Indian soil. In 2017, his planned visit fell through when India did not extend an official invitation, leading him instead to visit neighboring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
