Elon Musk predicts that computers will surpass humans soon

Tesla CEO Elon Musk cited something that we have all thought of or been afraid of for a long time – Computers are going to surpass humans soon. He said this to Alibaba's Jack Ma at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.

"We will be far, far surpassed in every single way. I guarantee it," Musk said. He believes that artificial intelligence will be heading the change. AI is already being highly used by social networks and big data firms. AI makes big data analytics easy and is now being used to advance technologies including visual and voice recognition.

Simply put, a smartphone can already defeat humans in online chess. Musk says that this is not just a passing phrase. It holds weight because he owns Neuralink – the neurotechnology company working on brain-machine interfaces. It aims to combine people's cognitive abilities with artificial intelligence.

According to Musk, we should assume on the onset that we are dumb, but that we can make things smarter than ourselves. Ma, however disagrees, He stated that technology has never spawned a human being or even a mosquito. He doesn't think that AI will take over humans. He calls it "impossible."

Instead of humans fighting computers, Ma wants to see computers fighting computers. Musk on the other hand, has warned in the past that if companies compete in AI, it may start World War III.

It is an interesting conversation among the leading billionaires in the world. While Musk is considered the stalwart of technology like a new-age Steve Jobs, Alibaba is considered the pinnacle of entrepreneurship. Ma started as an English teacher and went on to establish one of China's biggest companies.

It is definitely food for thought. However, if one has to lean towards a view, it would be that Musk's. AI is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, a Nest security camera or even big data analytics by the government.