42 CEOs think AI might destroy humanity this decade

Vast majority of CEOs believe AI can destroy humanity, yet they grab any AI investment opportunity presented

A large number of chief executive officers (CEOs) from a diverse cross-section of Fortune 500 companies believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy humanity.

In a survey shared by CNN, 42% of CEOs from 119 companies surveyed by Yale University, think AI could destroy our species within the next five to 10 years.

The consortium surveyed during Yale's CEO Summit event this week contained different leaders from companies including Zoom, Coca-Cola and Walmart.

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The survey concluded that 34% think AI could extinguish humanity in the next 10 years, 8% say it could happen within five years and 58% believe that such a catastrophe will not happen at all.

Forty-two per cent of CEOs did, however, admit that the risk of AI was overblown.

When asked about the dangers and benefits of AI, 13% said that the touted benefits of AI were overstated, while the remaining 83% said that they don't think AI's potential has been exaggerated.

Unsurprisingly, top businessmen have been salivating with AI's potential to replace the human workforce with cheaper tech.