Elon Musk Suggests That a Brain Parasite Is Forcing Humans to Create Superhuman AI

Um, there is some truth to this.

Rats to Cats

Elon Musk tweeted a fascinating—and frankly unsettling—theory about how a brain parasite is forcing all humans to create advanced AI.

The Tesla CEO was responding to a story from National Geographic about how toxoplasmosis, a common parasite often found in cats, is causing hyenas to be reckless around predators such as lions. He suggested that the parasite is actually what’s causing humans to create advanced artificial intelligence. 

“Toxoplasmosis infects rats, then cats, then humans who make cat videos,” Musk tweeted on Friday. “AI trains achieves superhuman intelligence training on Internet cat videos, thus making toxoplasmosis the true arbiter of our destiny.”

Is It True?

At first blush, this might seem like just another meme tweet we’ve come to know, love, and hate from the billionaire SpaceX founder… but there’s a nugget of truth in it.

Toxoplasmosis is a single-celled parasite that typically infects rats and mice. The parasite takes over the minds of the rodents and causes them to lose their fear in predators such as cats and humans. These newly brave rats will approach cats, get eaten, and pass on the parasite to the cats who then pass it on to people. 

But does it result in humans getting their minds taken over? Maybe. Studies have suggested that people who test positive for toxoplasmosis can exhibit more risk-taking behavior, according to LiveScience. 

In fact, a study looking at almost 600 people in the Czech Republic and 370 people in Turkey found that those who tested positive for toxoplasmosis were more likely to experience a car crash. 

Toxic Mind Control

At the end of the day though, it’s incredibly unlikely that a brain parasite is causing humans to create superhuman AI. For one, not everyone has a cat. Also, toxoplasmosis doesn’t make us want to create advanced, machine-learning computers. 

But it might cause us to take more risky behavior like… oh, I don’t know: investing billions into an electric car company, or attempting to colonize Mars, or trying to control the entire cryptocurrency market by sending off meme tweets. 

More on Elon Musk: Elon Musk Tweets About Dogecoin Knockoff, Sending It Skyrocketing

As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent company’s forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. It’s free to join, sign up now!