This quirky billionaire believes that humans will create a “super” AI after their brains are infected by a parasite from cats.
Following his strange posts on Twitter, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX continues to attract attention with a theory that is both intriguing and chilling: a brain parasite could propel humanity to develop advanced AI.
On July 3rd, the Twitter account of the science channel National Geographic shared a story about toxoplasmosis, a common parasite found in cats, which, after infecting hyenas, caused them to become audacious enough to compete for prey with lions.
Elon Musk is known for his perplexing ideas. (Photo: AP)
“Toxoplasmosis infects rodents, then cats, and then people who make cat videos,” Musk replied to the post with a surprising logical deduction.
“AI will be trained to possess super intelligence through cat videos on the Internet, hence, toxoplasmosis becomes a determining factor in our fate,” the CEO of Tesla asserted.
Toxoplasmosis is a single-celled parasite that commonly infects rodents. Scientists have observed that it affects the brains of these mammals, causing them to lose their fear of predators.
These “brave” rodents will approach cats, get eaten, and transmit the parasite to the cats, which then spread it to humans.
But does toxoplasmosis affect humans? Studies indicate that individuals who test positive for toxoplasmosis may engage in riskier behaviors than the average person.
A study involving nearly 600 people in the Czech Republic and 370 people in Turkey found that patients who were positive for toxoplasmosis generally had a higher risk of accidents.
However, Futurism argues that it is highly unlikely that a brain parasite would enable humans to create super AI. Not everyone owns a cat, nor is there any evidence suggesting that toxoplasmosis drives us to embark on advanced computer science projects.
“But it might lead us to take more risks, such as investing billions in an electric car company, colonizing Mars, or attempting to control the entire cryptocurrency market by sending meme tweets,” Futurism humorously remarked about Elon Musk.
