Elon Musk: regulate AI to combat 'existential threat' before it's too late

Tesla and SpaceX CEO says AI represents a 'fundamental risk to human civilisation' and that waiting for something bad to happen is not an option

Tesla and Space X chief executive Elon Musk has pushed again for the proactive regulation of artificial intelligence because "by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it's too late".

Speaking at the US National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence Rhode Island, Musk said: "Normally the way regulations are set up is when a bunch of bad things happen, there's a public outcry, and after many years a regulatory agency is set up to regulate that industry.