--- title: "Elon Musk: Competition for AI Superiority at National Level Will Be the “Most Likely Cause of WW3”" description: "Elon Musk joins others in expressing the belief that a world war could arise as nations around the world compete for AI superiority." date: "2017-09-04" modified: "2017-09-05" authors: - name: "Karla Lant" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/karla" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-competition-for-ai-superiority-at-national-level-will-be-the-most-likely-cause-of-ww3" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "elon musk" - "vladimir putin" - "world war" --- # Elon Musk: Competition for AI Superiority at National Level Will Be the “Most Likely Cause of WW3” ![]() *Elon Musk interviewed by Chris Anderson at TED2017 - The Future You, April 24-28, 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED \Image: \TED/Flickr\\* ## AI Goes to War On Monday morning, in response to [an article from ]()*[The Verge]()* discussing [Vladimir Putin's remarks]() on artificial intelligence (AI), Elon Musk took to Twitter to share his views. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904638455761612800 Musk clarified that he believes the war would be started not by a world leader, but by an AI as a preemptive strike: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904639405440323585 Musk also responded to several Twitter users' points in the discussion that followed, which focused primarily on the fraught relationship between North Korea and the U.S. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904640183932301312 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904641970349285376 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904656511334354948 ## Rulers of the World We already know that the U.S. is generally considered the [world leader in AI]() and machine learning. This position is tenuous, however, particularly in light of strong competition from other countries, as well as growing [weakness of the education system](), resulting in a decreased number of adults with the technical skills required to sustain and grow STEM industries. Goldman Sachs [recently released a report]() citing China as an up and coming AI power, predicting that the nation will continue to grow in AI development, likely meeting its 2030 goal of becoming a global center for AI innovation. By that time, Goldman predicts China's AI industries will reach a total output value of 1 trillion yuan ($147.80 billion). Russia, too, is placing a high value on AI development. Like both China and the U.S., the country is [exploring militarized AI]() in the form of swarming drones and long-range missiles. On Friday, [Vladimir Putin commented]() that the country that leads in AI development "will be the ruler of the world," but added that in terms of AI dominance by any one nation, it "would be strongly undesirable if someone wins a monopolist position." This is [not the first time]() Musk has pointed out that AI poses a much greater risk of war than North Korea. In fact, Musk is not alone in his idea that AI will cause the next world war: [Jack Ma](), head of China's Alibaba, shares this belief — and Alibaba is one of the top AI developers in China, according to the Goldman Sachs report. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]()