Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates revealed his concerns over artificial intelligence in his most recent Reddit Ask Me Anything session.
The concerns of Gates are similar to the ones previously expressed by fellow great minds Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and Stephen Hawking, the famed theoretical physicist.
All three geniuses have expressed fear in the possibility of artificial intelligence someday possibly posing as a dangerous risk to the existence of humanity.
In the Reddit AMA session, where users of the popular online forum ask guest celebrities practically anything that they want, Gates echoed the concerns of Musk and Hawking that the scenarios unfolding in science fiction movies such as the Terminator could become reality if the threat of artificial super intelligence is taken lightly.
"I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence," Gates wrote. While at first, the machines that possess artificial intelligence will be able to carry out a lot of jobs for people; these machines will not yet be super intelligent. Gates added that this would be a positive thing, but only if people are able to manage artificial intelligence well.
Gates wrote that the few decades after the release of machines with artificial intelligence will be the critical time, as intelligence may have developed to be strong enough to pose as a threat to humanity.
"I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don't understand why some people are not concerned," Gates concluded his post.
Earlier in January, Musk donated $10 million to the Future of Life Institute (FLI), a group that is dedicated towards the prevention of the potential risks of artificial intelligence. The donation looks to ensure that automated systems will still continue to listen and obey humans in the future, despite the incoming advances in artificial intelligence technologies.
The FLI has also recently released an open letter for the continuous control over artificial intelligence, as the technology may one day grow beyond the control of the humans that developed it.
"Success in the quest for artificial intelligence has the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to humanity, and it is therefore worthwhile to research how to maximize these benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls," the open letter wrote.
For the recently concluded Reddit AMA, Gates also received questions regarding improvements in poor countries, the future of personal computing, immortality, spending habits, and his preference of either dry rub or sauce on his barbecue.
