Elon Musk is seen as the leader in technological innovation and is making it a mission to improve the quality of the world we live in and save humanity from itself. He is investing in space travel and automation. Musk believes that for humans to survive, other planets must be colonized. His support for solar energy is supported by how he is implementing solar technology into his electric cars, or the Tesla models. Musk’s work in Tesla and SpaceX is also far ahead of its time as he was one of the first people to even consider and apply the possibility of space travel. Musk is also working on SolarCity, a solar energy company, further supporting how Elon Musk has a vision of a cleaner, safer, and healthier Earth, while significantly improving the quality of life for all of humanity.
One of Elon Musk’s main beliefs is that the next stage of evolution for humans involves the introduction of “human-computer” symbiosis. He sees a future where technology and man will become conjoined and digital intelligence will become much more prominent. Musk sees humans as rather simple and slow computers that will need to “upgrade” to keep up with the increase in the pace of life. The original idea for human-computer symbiosis rose about 57 years ago by J.C.R. Licklider, a psychologist and computer science pioneer. Licklider’s work influenced and began a new generation of technological innovation. Today, the concept of human-machine symbiosis is evident in military technology, such as the F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System, which gives the user a next generation interface that provides users with access to a full description of flight, tactical, and sensor information for advanced situational awareness, precision and safety. The Oculus Rift, and similar products have brought this technology to everyday life. The Oculus is now being used for gaming, education, and even artistic purposes. To think that humans have created an alternative reality is astonishing, but Musk thinks this is only the beginning.
Musk compares human interaction to “bandwidth”. Machines communicate much more rapidly than humans, a 100 billion to 1 bit per second ratio. He believes that in order to create a truly symbiotic relationship with machines, the human mind must evolve to match artificial intelligence. Self-driving cars are becoming much more prominent, as is Musk’s influence in the area. He believes that while self-driving technology is crucial to implement, new sanctions must be used to compensate for displaced workers that lost their jobs to autonomous entities.
One of Musk’s rather outlandish claims is that humans are already cyborgs. The reasoning for this claim is that technology has already quickly become part of everyday life for humans. Smartphone have given humans the power to access a vast amount of information that is only increasing by the second. Compared to the previous generations of homework, humans have integrated technology into everyday life. The next step to a complete evolution of human intelligence is pairing human intelligence with digital intelligence. Basically, Musk believes that humans will eventually be able to have access to the near infinite amount of information at any time. Basically, a “neural lace,” or a direct link to digital intelligence, would be needed. Musk fears that if we do not accomplish this, AI will eventually overcome humans and we will become “pets” to the superior intelligence.
The question of whether Elon Musk is truly envisioning a realistic future or an absurd dream will also be answered with time. One thing that is certain is that Elon Musk truly wants to help all of humanity to develop and survive, be it through planet colonization or artificial evolution. His visions for the future provide motivation for the youth today who struggle to deal with the problems that humans have left the Earth. Many look up to Musk as a benevolent leader who does not care about wealth, but rather the quality of life for all.
