Vinod Khosla has no doubts that humanity's future with AI is bright.
The Sun Microsystems co-founder and prominent investor predicts that “the need to work will disappear” almost entirely due to AI.
“It doesn't matter whether you're a primary care physician, mental health therapist, oncologist, structural engineer, accountant, etc., it's all available for almost free,” he said Monday in a conversation with TechCrunch editors. ” he said. – Chief executive Connie Loizos at the TechCrunch Disrupt annual conference.
Asked why he was so optimistic about an AI-enabled future, Khosla said a world in which most human labor would be freed would be “very rich” and that GDP growth would be “2. % to well over 5%,” he added.
Because many people are concerned that AI could have a negative impact on society, Khosla recently wrote an essay titled “AI: Dystopia or Utopia?”
On stage today, he summarized some of the main points of his 13,150-word essay.
Despite his optimism, Khosla acknowledged the potential risks of AI.
Although he strongly opposes the California AI bill SB1047, which is currently being vetoed, he said, “There is a possibility that sentient AI will try to kill humans,'' and raised concerns about the safety of AI. He added that this needs to be addressed.
But Khosla's biggest concern is the use of AI by U.S. rivals.
“In general, the biggest risk we face is powerful AI falling into the hands of adversaries,” he said. “I'm mainly thinking about President Xi, and I'm also thinking about President Putin.”
Khosla has been advocating against open source AI for months, citing concerns about its potential for abuse by China.
In addition to concerns that adversaries could weaponize AI, Khosla said the technology could ultimately lead to increased income inequality.
The venture capitalist, who is a proponent of universal basic income and income redistribution, says, “Capitalism tends to concentrate wealth, so it's important to have policies that equalize wealth so that everyone has a stake.'' There must be,” he said.
Khosla was bullish on AI long before the technology made its recent advances. The 2018 investment in OpenAI was “an easy decision,” he explained, even though there was still some vagueness about what the company was building.
Khosla Ventures is one of OpenAI's first institutional investors. The company's first $50 million check gave it a 5% stake in the company, which is now valued at $157 billion.