Many are concerned about how AI will impact human behaviours and desires, but Elon Musk believes there’s a way to make sure that it impacts humanity in a positive way.
Elon Musk has said that xAI will program AI in such a way that it increases the birth rate. “AI is obviously gonna one-shot the human limbic system,” he said on X. The limbic system is a group of structures in the brain that regulate emotions, behavior, motivation and memory. While small in size, the limbic system helps humans interact with the world around them. Musk seemed to be suggesting that AI will greatly impact this system, and override it in many cases.
“That said, I predict – counter-intuitively – that it will *increase* the birth rate!” Mark my words. Also, we’re gonna program it that way,” he added.
Musk seemed to be referring to criticism around Grok’s latest releases which have led people to wonder how AI will impact birth rates. Grok has released two companions for users. One is a Japanese waifu-themed companion Ani, which dresses in skimpy outfits and flirts with users. Another is a brooding and handsome man named Valentin. Some have said that AI companions like these — which can talk to the user, both through audio and video — could lead to people developing emotional connections with them. These emotional connections could substitute for normal human relationships, which could lead to people not wanting to have romantic relationships with real humans, and thus causing the birth rate to plummet.
Elon Musk has been raising the alarm about falling birth rates for years. He’s gone ahead and had 14 known children, and has joked that he’s doing his part to help with the underpopulation crisis. Some have said that Musk is only exacerbating the problem by releasing AI features on Grok which could hijack people’s reward centers and make them less likely to have human relationships.
Musk now says that while he believes that AI will impact human feelings and emotions, his company would look to program AI in such a way as to actually help increase the birth rate. He suggested that AI, if applied correctly, could help arrest the falling birth rate and actually increase it. Musk didn’t specify how he’d do this — he even said that what he’s saying is “counter-intuitive”, but said they’d get it done all the same. It isn’t easy to see how AI waifus and handsome and brooding male companions can help improve birth rates, but one would hope that Musk has some sort of a plan to make sure they don’t interfere too much with normal human reproductive patterns.