Falling birth rate, artificial intelligence and Italy. Chat with Musk

Tg1 met Elon Musk, creator of companies such as Space X and Tesla, owner of Twitter, immediately after the entrepreneur’s meeting with the premier, Giorgia Meloni. The result was the first Italian interview with the richest man on the planet, which was broadcast in various tranches of the first national Rai news program between Thursday and Friday. Here is the full text. The interview was conducted by Marco Valerio Lo Prete.

Elon Musk, you have just met Prime Minister Meloni. What are your immediate impressions after this interview?

“We had an excellent conversation with Prime Minister Meloni. She seemed to care a lot about Italy and her future, she definitely cares. For my part, I have raised two fundamental concerns. Firstly, the falling birth rate: in Italy, every year, almost twice as many people die as compared to those who are born. I have therefore recommended further tax relief for those who have children or in any case measures to make the birth rate a more sustainable choice for people. Secondly, I spoke to the prime minister about the risks of artificial intelligence, one so powerful that we can submit to it in the future. These are risks for the whole civilization”.

You once wrote, obviously on Twitter, that the primacy of the ancient Romans was due to technology and engineering. Is it possible today to replicate that model?

“I’m a fan of history in general, and Rome and Italy have an amazing history. This has been the center of the western world for a long time, and I think the role that technology played in that phase was underestimated, even for aspects that we take for granted in our daily lives today, such as water or sewage networks”.

His tour of Europe also includes a stop in Paris. Do you believe that Italy, and Europe in general, are today sufficiently open to investment opportunities, including yours?

“I think the challenge for Europe, as for other areas of the world, is constituted by an excessive accumulation of norms and rules. Once laws and rules are created, they become immortal. But humans are not immortal. Thus, year after year, we have more rules and constraints. Europe is like a giant, tied to the ground by millions of laces and snares. As in the novel ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. And one might wonder which of these snares is the most damaging to the economy, but the problem is, there are millions of them!”.

Should we start by deleting some?

“Yes. And I don’t think it’s an ideological question. Rather it is a matter of logic. No ideology, just logic!”.

Did Meloni provide any suggestions on the matter to the Prime Minister?

“I think there should be a ‘deregulation commission’. There are many commissions to create rules, but not to delete them periodically. In Germany, where we have our own Tesla plant, this is the main challenge for us. There are so many rules that making progress becomes difficult. Some deregulation is essential or everything will end up being illegal in Europe! It’s amazing… And don’t forget you have children. BE KIDS! Baby Maximus!”.