Elon Musk doesn't think we're prepared to face humanity's biggest threat: Artificial intelligence

The subjugation of humanity by a race of super-smart, artificially intelligent beings is something that has been theorized by everyone from generations of moviemakers to New Zealand's fourth-most-popular folk-parody duo. But the latest prophet of our cyber-fueled downfall must realize why people would be inclined to take his warnings with a grain of silicon. He is, after all, the same guy who's asking us to turn over control of our cars -- and our lives -- to a bunch of algorithms. Elon Musk, who hopes that one day everyone will ride in a self-driving, electric-powered Tesla, told a group of governors Saturday that they needed to get on the ball and start regulating artificial intelligence, which he called a "fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization." When pressed for better guidance, Musk said the government must get a better understanding of the latest achievements in artificial intelligence before it's too late.