Elon Musk issues bizarre warning for what will 'nuke Earth' in 2029
The tech mogul's dystopian prediction leaves sci-fi fans uneasy
The future of artificial intelligence has become a hot topic of debate in recent years, with experts offering dramatic predictions about where the technology might lead us.
AI systems can now forecast everything from a potential World War III to catastrophic death tolls, while tech leaders weigh in on what they think will happen to humanity if the tech continues to accelerate at its current pace.
Meanwhile, tech billionaire Elon Musk has never been one to keep his futuristic visions to himself.
Advert
Whether he's outlining his ambitious plans to colonise Mars or sharing simulations of what life on the Moon might look like, Musk regularly offers his take on humanity's next chapter.
Now, taking to X, the Tesla and SpaceX founder has made a pretty dystopian prediction about what could happen to Earth in 2029.
"POV: It’s 2029 and woke AI nukes Earth to ensure that the probability of misgendering is zero," Musk wrote in response to an iconic scene from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, where the Terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) explains the future to Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).
In the referenced scene, the cyborg explains how AI ultimately destroys humanity.
"In three years, Cyberdyne will become the largest supplier of military computer systems," the Terminator says. "All stealth bombers are upgraded with Cyberdyne computers, becoming fully unmanned. Afterward, they fly with a perfect operational record."
He continues: "The Skynet funding bill has passed. The system goes online August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defence. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 am Eastern time, August 29. In a panic, they try to pull the plug."
If you haven't seen the 1991 classic sequel, Terminator 2 depicts a future where an AI defence system called Skynet achieves consciousness and decides humanity is a threat that must be eliminated.
What once seemed like just sci-fi now feels a little too close to home, especially given recent reports about the lengths AI would go to protect itself.
Researchers have noted how jailbroken artificial intelligence systems openly admit they could harm humans, while other experts have demonstrated AI's readiness to resort to blackmail when threatened.
Viewers in the comments responded with a mix of Terminator memes and concern about this dystopian future.
"honestly the fact that this is a joke but also kinda not is what keeps me up at night," one user wrote.
"If AI ever gets powerful enough to protect humanity, who decides what humanity should be protected from? The real danger may not be AI itself, but the values we program into it," another X user questioned. "How do we ensure future AI protects freedom and not ideology?"
"Yikes, that’s an extreme “woke AI” nightmare scenario. It really highlights how literal and dangerous AI could become if its goals aren’t aligned with human values. Hopefully, real-world AI safety keeps us far away from even thinking about that level of consequence," someone else argued.