Musk says useful work does not need to change the world. A small improvement to a game or photo sharing can still do good if it helps many people.
What Would Elon Musk Work On If He Were 22?
Speaker
Elon Musk discusses which problems he would consider working on at age 22 in a Y Combinator conversation.
Musk identifies AI as the issue most likely to affect humanity in the near term. He says its development needs to lead to an outcome people would want, because it could go wrong.
Musk puts genetics second among the areas he considers important. He points to preventing genetic diseases and possibly dementia or Alzheimer’s through genetic reprogramming.
Musk says people are limited by the bandwidth between the brain and digital tools such as email, computers, phones, and applications. He sees a higher-bandwidth brain interface as important for the future.
Takeaways
- Choose work for the value it provides; it does not need to transform the world.
- When assessing AI work, consider whether its future outcomes will be beneficial.
- Genetic approaches may help prevent disease, including dementia and Alzheimer’s.
- Look for ways to reduce the bandwidth limits between people and their digital tools.
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What was claimed 3
- featureElon Musk: Musk considers AI the single biggest near-term item affecting humanity’s future and says it is important to ensure it develops well.Musk considers AI the single biggest near-term item affecting humanity’s future and says it is important to ensure it develops well.
“AI is probably the single biggest item in the near term.”
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- featureElon Musk: Musk says genetics could help solve genetic diseases and prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s.Musk says genetics could help solve genetic diseases and prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s.
“If you can solve genetic diseases, prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s with genetic reprogramming, that would be wonderful.”
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- featureElon Musk: Musk says a high-bandwidth brain interface could ease the constraint between the cortex and people’s digital tools.Musk says a high-bandwidth brain interface could ease the constraint between the cortex and people’s digital tools.
“Helping solve that bandwidth constraint would be very important for the future as well.”
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