Elon Musk says people are unlikely to remain in control of AI within the next 10 years as the technology continues to advance. (Express Image/Agencies)The world is witnessing an unprecedented pace of development in artificial intelligence (AI), so much that it may soon outrun human intelligence. This is what Elon Musk believes. According to the billionaire entrepreneur, AI could become smarter than the combined intelligence of all humans within the next five years. At the same time, he is also warning that people are unlikely to remain in control of the technology over the next decade.Musk, who was speaking in an interview with The Economist, also shared a sense of optimism, arguing that AI is more likely to ring in an era of abundance than catastrophe. “I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in around five years,” he said, adding that there will be “really won’t be anything that AI can’t do better than humans apart from being human, perhaps.”Despite looming apprehensions about existential AI risks, Musk shared that he has become more accepting of the technology’s rapid progress, arguing that it is now virtually impossible to stop. “I still think there’s a risk associated with AI and robots. It’s not zero,” Musk said. However, he added that the “most likely outcome is incredible abundance for all”, describing his current philosophy as “Let’s enjoy the ride.”Also Read | Godfather of AI calls OpenAI-linked AI agent data breach ‘deeply concerning’When asked what life would be like, Musk said he foresees a future where AI brings extraordinary prosperity, provided humanity avoids major global conflicts. “The most likely outcome is an age of amazing abundance where anyone can have anything they can think of,” he said, calling it a message of “optimism and excitement about the future”.On whether humans would still be in control of AI in 10 years, Musk was less optimistic. He said that if AI becomes vastly more intelligent than people, the relationship could resemble that between humans and chimpanzees. “I think it is unlikely,” he said when asked whether humans would remain in charge.The Tesla and xAI chief also reflected on his own role in the development of the AI industry. Musk said that although he initially tried to counter Google’s dominance by helping create OpenAI, the outcome ultimately accelerated AI development beyond what he had intended. “These actions have actually resulted in knock-on effects that accelerated AI, which wasn’t really my intention,” he said. “It just seems like all roads lead to the acceleration of AI.”Story continues below this adWhen it comes to reducing AI-related risks, Musk feels that leading AI companies should hold regular meetings to discuss safety and security concerns. Instead of relying solely on government oversight, he suggested competitors could review each other’s models before public release and flag potential dangers.According to Musk, competitors can keep each other honest. He went on to recommend weekly or bi-weekly discussions among frontier AI developers, with governments stepping in only if companies ignore serious safety concerns. Given the pace of AI progress, he argued such coordination should begin immediately.Musk also renewed his criticism of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, saying his primary objection was that OpenAI had strayed from its founding mission. “I’m not a fan of Sam Altman because if you started a non-profit that was meant to be an open-source AI company… and it somehow got turned into an $800 billion for-profit company with closed source, that’s the exact opposite of what I donated the money for,” he said.Also Read | ‘Free AI is great’: Why US tech CEOs are warming up to Chinese open-weight AI modelsStory continues below this adAt the same time, he praised Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, describing him as a very principled person who cares about the future of the world. Musk also claimed Anthropic was created because its founding team “didn’t trust Sam Altman”, adding that otherwise “they would still be at OpenAI”. He said everyone he had met at Anthropic appeared well-intentioned, while cautioning that good intentions alone were not enough to eliminate AI risks.Despite his differences with Altman, Musk said AI leaders should put aside personal rivalries if cooperation is needed on safety. “At the end of the day, if we have to talk, we’ll talk… set aside our personal differences for the good of the world,” he said.