Elon Musk Predicts AI Will Surpass Collective Human Intelligence in Five Years

American businessman Elon Musk anticipates that artificial intelligence (AI) could surpass the collective intelligence of humanity within approximately five years. This vision was shared during an extensive interview Musk conducted with The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, where he outlined the features of the coming era based on research from his AI company xAI and other technological ventures. Musk stated: "I think AI could exceed the sum total of human intelligence in about five years." He elaborated that the pace of computing development is no longer linear but is accelerating explosively. By the end of 2026, Musk predicts AI will outperform the smartest individual human mind in analysis, reasoning, and programming. Musk further believes that by 2036, within ten years, humans will completely lose control over super-systems and will be unable to manage their decisions. He compared interacting with these systems to "visiting super-intelligent aliens." He added that there will be nothing AI cannot do better than humans, "except, perhaps, the ability to be human."