Human speech may be too slow for future artificial intelligence, Elon Musk said during a presentation on AI this week, according to Business Insider. The SpaceX and Tesla leader said the gap between how quickly computers process information and how slowly humans do could disrupt communication between people and advanced machines.
Musk described the disparity in stark terms. "To a computer… a millisecond is an eternity, but to us it's nothing," he said, per Business Insider. "Human speech to a computer will sound like very slow tonal wheezing, kind of like whale sounds."
The problem, as Musk framed it, is not just speed but patience. "The computer will just get impatient, if nothing else," he said. "It will be like talking to a tree — that's humans."
Musk pointed to Neuralink, his brain-computer interface company, as a potential long-term answer. The company aims to develop technology that could help humans keep pace with advanced AI, though Musk did not offer a timeline or specific technical details during the presentation. Until such technology exists, he suggested, humans may struggle to communicate effectively with superhuman AI.
The comments add to Musk's ongoing public discussion about the risks and possibilities of artificial intelligence. He has previously warned about AI's potential dangers while also pursuing ventures in the field. The Business Insider report did not specify the venue or audience of the presentation.
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