Zuckerberg, Musk among tech leaders discussing AI’s future at G20 forum in Chapel Hill
World leaders and technology executives gathered in Chapel Hill on Tuesday to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the global economy.
The G20 Innovation Ministerial is being held at the Carolina Inn on Sept. 1 and 2.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among the technology leaders who spoke Tuesday. He told the group he expects AI to dramatically lower the cost of starting a business.
“I would expect that the cost of starting a business is going to go way down,” Zuckerberg said. “It’s going to take way less capital in the future, maybe way less people to get started.”
Zuckerberg argued that AI should be used to create new things rather than simply replace work people already do.
“If AI can’t help us invent things and is primarily technology used to automate things that people can do without creating new things, then that has a lot of problems,” Zuckerberg said.
He also pointed to potential job growth connected to the data centers needed to support AI, saying demand for skilled trades to build those facilities could create hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of jobs.
Other technology leaders participating Tuesday included SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Chair of Google DeepMind Technologies Demis Hassabis.
Hassabis focused on how AI could speed up scientific research, particularly drug development. “We hope eventually to get that down from years to months, maybe even one day weeks, and maybe tackle hundreds of diseases,” Hassabis said.
The discussions come as world leaders grapple with how to regulate rapidly developing AI technology and its potential effects on workers and the economy.
Not everyone in the Triangle is embracing the pace of development.
Protesters gathered over Interstate 40 on Monday ahead of the summit, expressing concerns about AI’s rapid expansion.
“I want them to think carefully and to slow down,” protester Kim Winz said. “And I think that AI has a lot of potential and a lot of promise, but also a lot of danger.”
Another protest is also planned to start at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning on UNC’s campus.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is scheduled to speak Wednesday, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will lead the day’s discussions.
Chapel Hill officials said there will be an increased law enforcement presence downtown during the forum, particularly around the Carolina Inn. Chapel Hill police are coordinating with university, regional, state, and federal agencies.
Town officials have also warned drivers to expect additional traffic around downtown Chapel Hill while the forum is underway.
The Chapel Hill event is happening the same week as a G20 finance forum in Asheville. The North Carolina events are among several planned across the U.S. ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit at President Donald Trump’s golf resort in South Florida, Trump National Doral Miami.