Cryptocurrency, robots, A.I.... Here are Elon Musk's 5 predictions for the future, and they're worrying

Organized by Vox Media, the Code Conference is an annual event during which executive leaders and up-and-coming entrepreneurs debate the 'role of technology in our new reality'. This year, the conference took place from September 27 to 29, and Elon Musk was one of the guests of honor. Speaking to journalist Kara Swisher, the Tesla CEO shared his vision of the world in the near future.

Nuclear power, the solution to the energy crisis

According to Elon Musk, electricity distribution as it stands today is inefficient. He believes that part of the solution lies in generating energy at a very local level (i.e. directly in the home).

At the conference, he was also very much in favor of renewable energies, but also and above all of nuclear power:

I'm rather surprised by the public resentment towards nuclear power. I don't think we should build a bunch of new nuclear power plants, but we shouldn't close the ones that are operating safely.

Cryptocurrencies

For the billionaire, cryptocurrencies aren't going away any time soon. Viewed very unfavorably by China, they have, according to Elon Musk, several qualities.

The purpose of cryptocurrencies is, fundamentally, to reduce the power of a centralized government, and [China] doesn't like that.

He told Kara Swisher:

It's not possible for a government to destroy cryptocurrencies, but it can however slow its progress.

Read more:Elon Musk tweets about devastating impact of nuclear war: Here's what he said

Artificial intelligence and robotics

As decades of science fiction have shown, the future of robotics and artificial intelligence is fascinating. Elon Musk believes, however, that their emergence is creating new problems.

I've been saying for a long time that regulating artificial intelligences is an important topic. And that we should have agencies that oversee their safety.

Rather alarmist, the man who has just introduced the Tesla Bot even clarified:

After the collapse of the population, I think the [non] regulation of A.I. is the greatest threat to civilization.

Not very reassuring.

Drug legalization

It won't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen him smoking a joint in the middle of a podcast, but Elon Musk is pretty open on the subject of drugs.

Generally speaking, I think people should be open about psychedelic drugs.

Repressive logic is, in his view, a relic of the past:

A lot of the people who make the laws belong to a different era. As the new generation gains political power, we'll be more receptive to the subject of the benefits of psychoactive substances.

The Starlink revolution

Unsurprisingly, Elon Musk couldn't resist mentioning one of his companies. He assured us that Starlink, his network of telecommunications satellites providing high-speed Internet connections all over the world, is going to be a great success.

His company would not be a threat to 5G or terrestrial fiber, but would be particularly useful in moderately populated areas, where installing fiber optics would be too expensive.

I think [Starlink] is going to have a strongly positive effect on the world since Starlink is designed to come and serve the most needy.

Read more:Elon Musk goes into 'demon mode' when he's angry, according to his biographer

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

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