From flying cars to the structure of Martian governments.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is arguably one of the greatest thinkers of our time. His contributions to clean technology and space exploration continue to transform society and our knowledge of the world around us.
But Musk is also known for his mind-bending beliefs about humanity and the universe —
and the visionary certainly isn’t shy about sharing his outrageous views.
1. Mars would have a direct democracy government system
Musk believes that colonies on Mars would thrive with a direct democracy system rather than a representative democracy system. In his vision, people would vote directly on issues, which would in turn diminish the potential for corruption.
“It should probably be easier to remove a law than to create one. Laws have infinite life unless they’re taken away,” he said at Vox Media’s Code Conference.
2. We should nuke Mars to make it habitable for humans
Elon Musk appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, announcing that he thinks the quickest way to terraform Mars and allow humans to live on it would be to nuke the planet.
He says humans would have to live in transparent domes at first, but that we could eventually turn Mars into an Earth-like planet.
"The fast way is to drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles," he told Colbert.
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3. We’re most likely living in an advanced civilization’s video game
To put it bluntly, Musk says there’s a “one in billions chance we’re in base reality.”
Basically, since humans are on the way to creating virtual reality technologies that are indistinguishable from reality, Musk thinks that we’re probably already living in an advanced simulation.
4. We should connect our brains directly to the internet
At the Code Conference, Musk discussed “neural lace,” which is basically a type of brain implant in the form of a mesh of electronic fibers. The implant would grow into the brain, enabling neurons to be programmed and enhanced.
“Just as your cortex works symbiotically with your limbic system, your third digital layer could work symbiotically with you,” he said.
5. We could eventually become the “housepets” of artificial intelligence
As artificial intelligence continues to advance, Musk believes we could one day become the “housepets” of AI if we don’t act upon maintaining our authority as a species. In fact, he thinks that the neural lace brain implants could be the solution.
6. In the future, it may become illegal for humans to drive cars
“In the distant future, people may outlaw driving cars because it’s too dangerous,” Musk said. “You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine."
An interesting prediction coming from the CEO of Tesla Motors.
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7. Humans are already cyborgs
Musk thinks that humans are already cyborgs with “superpowers” and “digital versions” of ourselves.
"You have more power than the president of the United States had 20 years ago," Musk said at the Code Conference. "You can answer any question, you can video conference with anyone, anywhere. You can send messages to millions of people instantly. Just do incredible things."
8. The biggest issue with creating flying cars isn’t building the vehicles themselves
"Maybe we'll make a flying car, just for fun," Elon Musk said in an interview with The Independent.
"We could definitely make a flying car – but that's not the hard part,” he explains. “The hard part is, how do you make a flying car that's super safe and quiet? Because if it's a howler, you're going to make people very unhappy."
9. Humans should spread across other planets and star systems
To Musk, the long-term goal isn’t just about colonizing Mars — which, by the way, he plans to try and make happen sooner rather than later. He announced plans to send humans to Mars as soon as 2024, which would beat NASA by a few years.
But Mars isn’t the only planet on Musk’s radar.
“When I say multi-planet species, that’s what we want to be,” he said at the Code Conference. “It’s about extending onto other planets and eventually other star systems.”
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