Ignore Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's War Over Killer Robots, the Real Challenge is Already Here

Tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckeberg have been engaged in a very public, somewhat silly and self-indulgent battle over artificial intelligence lately. Musk has warned AI-powered robots could usher in some form of automated war to give humanity its richly deserved demise, while Zuckerberg responded by saying he is "really optimistic" it could usher a golden age of lifesaving technology. Both have traded blows, with Zuckerberg saying the doomsaying is "pretty irresponsible," and Musk tweeting he thinks the Facebook head just doesn't understand the issue. The whole thing is a little eyeroll-inducing given true AI remains a pipe dream for now, and both men stand to benefit greatly from machine learning trends which automate jobs and concentrate control of the emerging digital economy in fewer hands. Coursera cofounder Andrew Ng, a real AI researcher who used to be chief scientist at Chinese tech company Baidu, weighed in on the latter issue Tuesday.