Davos [Switzerland], January 23 (ANI): Artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to surpass the collective intelligence of the entire human race within the next five years, said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Chief Engineer at SpaceX, and CTO of xAI said at the World Economic Forum.

Musk provided this timeline during a recent discussion with Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, regarding the acceleration of computational capabilities and the integration of autonomous systems into the economy.

The transition toward super-human intelligence is expected to occur in incremental stages over the current decade. Musk noted that the pace of development indicates a significant milestone is imminent. 'We might have AI that is smarter than any human by the end of this year, and I would say no later than next year...five years from now, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively,' he said.

Parallel to advancement of software, the physical application of these systems through robotics is moving into industrial and commercial sectors. Musk indicated that the development of specialised hardware is already yielding results in controlled environments.

'Humanoid robotics will advance very quickly. I think we do have some of the Tesla Optimus robots doing simple tasks in the factory,' he said. The deployment of these units is scheduled to expand as their ability to handle intricate operations improves.

According to the projections shared with Fink, these robotic systems will transition from factory floors to the consumer market in the near future. Musk said that by the end of this year, the robots will perform 'more complex tasks' while remaining in industrial settings. He added that by the end of next year, the company would likely begin 'selling humanoid robots to the public.'

The move toward public availability depends on meeting specific benchmarks for safety and utility. Musk said this commercial phase begins when there is confidence in 'very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality.'

He compared the upcoming versatility of humanoid units to the existing software evolution observed in the automotive sector. 'You can basically ask it to do anything you'd like. You're already seeing that in Tesla cars,' Musk said. (ANI)