'With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon' quote of the day by Elon Musk on the rise of machine intelligence

Date:
Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
Scientists and technology execs alike are torn on what the implications of AI will be, although many liken it to a higher power

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter With AI, the genie is out of
the bottle, and there's no turning back. That's the overriding viewpoint across science and in Silicon Valley, where execs are increasingly building powerful systems. Beyond just building smarter machines, many among them have actually invoked quasi-religious imagery to describe the future. "With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories
where theres the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, its like yeah, hes sure he can control the demon. Doesnt work out" Elon Musk, October 2014 Science and magic SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously echoed science-fiction author Arthur C Clark when he likened scientific progress to magic . Quote of the day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here . In comments he made to students during an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium at MIT, Musk once again used colorful language to explain how he saw the progress we were making on AI. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

In pursuing the goal of building advanced machine intelligence, beginning
with AGI, he suggested there would be limited ways of controlling such an entity, and that any attempts to do so would be futile.

The following year after making these comments, alongside Sam Altman and
other tech executives, Musk co-founded OpenAI, which spearheaded the release of ChatGPT and thrust modern AI systems into the mainstream. You may like Quote of the day by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: "Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether [we] possess the maturity to wield it" warnings on the looming threat of beyond-human AI Quote of the day by Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang: "I appreciate that many of us grew up and enjoyed science fiction, but it's not helpful"
on quantifying the existential risks posed by AI 'AI will probably most
likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, therell be great companies' - quote of the day by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman The machine god Musk's likening of AI to a demon has inherent connotations of danger or doom which is appropriate, considering he and others have previously said AI is the biggest existential threat that humanity faces in the years to come.

For example, AI researchers Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, published a book in 2025 called 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies' in which they laid out the case against building a superintelligent AI that could wipe us out. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

These comparisons, however, are rejected by many others who see AI as
unlikely to instigate science-fiction-type (or even supernatural-esque) doomsday scenarios. Chief among these voices is Jensen Huang , while just 3% of researchers say they were most worried about a scenario in which an out-of-contorl AI poses a threat to humanity.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/with-artificial-intelligence-we-are-summoning-th e-demon-quote-of-the-day-by-elon-musk-on-the-rise-of-machine-intelligence


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