This article is compiled from YC video interviews by 42 Chapters (ID: MyFortyTwo).

This series of articles is the "Conversation about the Future" series of YC Incubator. Click to see the previous issue: "YC Partner Dialogue with Mark Zuckerberg: Everything about Facebook's trough, growth, products, recruitment, future, etc."

After reading the interview, I feel that Elon Musk’s will is extremely strong, but his eloquence is obviously slightly inferior to Zuckerberg.

The full text is slightly abridged.

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Sam: Elon Musk, thank you for coming today.

Elon: Thank you.

Sam: Let’s start by discussing some issues about the future. When you were young, you once said that there were five issues that you thought were important and needed to be done (Editor's note: they were sustainable energy, the Internet, colonizing alien planets, AI, and genetic modification). If you were 22 years old now, what do you think are the five most important issues today?

Elon: First of all, I want to say that as long as you do something useful to this society, then it is good. You don’t have to change the world. Even if it's a small game or a better photo sharing feature, as long as it's of some use to the majority of people in the world, that's good. Not only things that change the world are good. But when it comes to the things that are most likely to affect humanity, I think AI may be the most important and most influential thing in the near future.

So, it is very important that we welcome AI in a suitable way (Editor's note: Elon is one of the supporters of the AI conspiracy theory, and he feels that the development of AI is likely to be harmful to mankind). AI is the most urgent thing at the moment. Then, I think the second most important thing is genetic modification. If we can treat and prevent diseases through genetic modification, that would be a great thing.

Finally, I think it is to create a high-bandwidth interface to connect to our brain (Editor's note: it is the intubation in the neck). Our current bandwidth is greatly limited. The original ability of our brains exceeds email, computers, mobile phones or APPs. We are inherently superhuman, so I think it is very important to solve the bandwidth interface problem of our brains.

Sam: Many ambitious young people always ask, "How can I become the next Elon Musk?" What do you think you did when you were young that made you so influential now?

Elon: 25 years ago, when I was in college, I thought about five things: sustainable energy, the Internet, colonizing alien planets, AI, and genetic modification (Editor’s note: Damn, I thought of these 25 years ago, including the hottest AI now). I didn’t want to do all of these things. At that time, it all started when I was helping to build electric cars in college. I was doing an internship and my task was to research whether there was a breakthrough way to provide energy for cars. I went to Stanford to study for a Ph.D., and my topic was the same, but I applied to drop out and founded an Internet company in 1995 (Editor's note: The company I founded was called Zip2, which was acquired by Compaq for US$300 million in 1999). Because at that time I really felt that Internet technology was in a period of drastic change, and I didn’t want to study P at Stanford for many years.hD, just watch this happen. I wasn't sure at the time that this would work. You can get a doctorate in many aspects, but these may not have any specific connection with the world. And I really just want to be a useful person. This is the optimal result. It's like constantly asking myself "What should I do to be useful?".

Sam: Do you think if people today want to be useful, they should study for a PhD?

Elon: Not used in most cases.

Sam: So how do people find a way to be useful?

Elon: I think you can estimate how much this thing you want to do will improve the current situation and how many people it will affect. I think a thing is good whether it has a very big impact on a few people or a very small impact on the majority of people. The final calculation is actually the product of these two numbers.

Sam: When you try to estimate the success rate, such as taking SpaceX as an example, how did you decide to really do this? It was a pretty crazy thing at the time.

Elon: Yeah, it’s crazy. That's what people said at the time, and I agree. If the goal is to achieve the best possible return with controlled risk, then starting a company is inherently an insane decision. Fortunately, that's not my goal.

I quickly came to the conclusion that if no one made improvements to space technology, people would be left on Earth forever. And the largest space technology companies have no interest in radical innovation. All they want to do is make old technology a little better every year. And the truth is, sometimes technology even gets worse over time. In 1969, we were able to land on the moon, but then the space station could only send people to low-Earth orbit, and then the space station was retired. According to this trend, people will eventually have to stay on the ground.

People sometimes think that technology will get better over time, but in fact it doesn’t. It only gets better when smart people put in crazy efforts, and technology only gets worse when no one puts in the effort. If you look at Egypt, the original pyramid construction technology has been lost, and no one can understand the hieroglyphics. The same is true for the buildings in ancient Rome. There are too many similar examples in historical civilizations. So I think we should always remember that the entropy of the universe is not on our side.

Sam: What I especially appreciate about you is that you are not afraid of what others say, but do a lot of things that others say are crazy. How do you do this? Is there any inner strength that helps you?

Elon: First of all, I have to admit that I always feel strong fear, so it doesn't mean that I can't be scared. But sometimes, you will feel that some things are too important, and you must do them even if you are afraid.

Sam: So you let the importance of things drive you against fear?

Elon: Yes, fatalism can actually be useful. If you treat the probability of failure as an objective reality, it won't be so scary. When I founded SpaceX, I felt that the probability of success was less than 10%, and I accepted this fact, including that I might lose everything. But as long as we can make some progress, even if we die, maybe other companies and people can continue to promote this matter, so we still do someUseful things. The same is true for Tesla. At that time, I also felt that the possibility of becoming a car company was extremely low.

Sam: What do you think the probability of us immigrating to Mars now is?

Elon: It may seem strange, but I think the probability is very high.

Sam: So when can I go? In addition, if I can come back, I hope not to leave forever. (laughing)

Elon: I hope I'm not kidding myself too much. But let’s look at it this way, a few years ago I didn’t even think successful immigration was a possibility, but now I’m certain it’s a possible outcome. I think maybe we can do it in 10 years, or in a shorter period of time, and I have to make sure that SpaceX does not die during this time, and I also have to make sure that I don't, or even if I die, someone will continue to do it.

Sam: You shouldn't take the first class by yourself.

Elon: Yes, there must be robots in the first class anyway.

Sam: Let’s go back to AI. You have expressed many views on AI. Can you tell us more about what an optimistic future looks like to you and how we can achieve it?

Elon: Well, first of all I want to emphasize that this is not something I am advocating for, this is simple and predictable. I think the most ideal result for AI is to realize the democratization of AI, that is, no company or individual alone controls advanced AI technology. So my worry is not that AI will develop independent consciousness, but that some people will use it for evil, or even if these owners don't, it may be used by others. This is why we are a company called OpenAI. We want to spread AI technology so that it will not only be in the hands of a few people. Of course, this still requires a high-bandwidth interface connected to the cerebral cortex.

Sam: Human beings are too slow.

Elon: Yes, that’s right. But we also have a cortex and a limbic system in our brains. The limbic system is like the native brain, responsible for your intuition and other things, while the cerebral cortex is responsible for the thinking part. The two work well together most of the time.

So, I think if we can connect AI and the cerebral cortex well, just like the cerebral cortex and limbic system do, we can become an "AI-human" symbiosis. And when everyone can become an AI person, we will also solve the problem of AI dictatorship. That's the best I can think of.

Sam: So, how do you use your time now?

Elon: I divide my time mostly between SpaceX and Tesla. Many people think that I spend a lot of time on media and company operations, but in fact 80% of my time is spent on engineering and design, creating the next generation of products.