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Abstract:
The Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award is annually bestowed upon a respected scientist or public figure who has warned of a future fraught with dangers and encouraged measures to prevent them.

Lifeboat Foundation gives 2014 Guardian Award to Elon Musk

Minden, NV | Posted on December 16th, 2014

The 2014 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award has been given to Elon Musk
in recognition of his warnings about artificial intelligence, his
promotion of space exploration including the creation of self-sustaining
space colonies, and his efforts to improve our environment with electric
cars and to expand solar energy generation.

Elon is often likened to a real-life Tony Stark from Marvel's Iron Man
comics for his role in cutting-edge companies including Space X, a
private space exploration company that holds the first private contracts
from NASA for resupply of the International Space Station, and the
electric car company Tesla Motors. Elon has also envisioned a conceptual
high-speed transportation system known as the Hyperloop.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Elon recently described his investments in AI research as "keeping an eye
on what's going on" rather than aiming for a viable return on capital.
He said, "I think we should be very careful about artificial
intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat
is, it's probably that. So we need to be very careful."

Considering that oversight of AI development by governmental and
nongovernmental agencies is about zero, it is helpful for Elon to bring
attention to this matter. For example, thanks to warnings like his,
Google now has an AI Ethics Board. (This matters since Google is putting
a lot of resources into creating smarter and smarter AIs.)

SELF-SUSTAINING SPACE COLONIES

There are many existential risks that could be survived if we had
self-sustaining colonies outside of the Earth. Elon said, "What matters
is being able to establish a self-sustaining civilization on Mars, and I
don't see anything being done but SpaceX. I don't see anyone else even
trying." He also said, "Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond this
green and blue ball -- or go extinct."

Elon is CEO and CTO of SpaceX. Historic achievements by SpaceX, among
others, include the first privately funded, liquid-fueled rocket (Falcon
1) to reach orbit in September 2008; the first privately funded company
to successfully launch (Falcon 9), orbit, and recover a spacecraft
(Dragon) in December 2010; and the first private company to send a
spacecraft (Dragon) to the International Space Station in May 2012. The
launch of SES-8 in December 2013 was the first SpaceX delivery into
geosynchronous orbit.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Elon is CEO, Chairman, and Product Architect of Tesla Motors. Tesla
first gained widespread attention following their production of the
Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car. The company's
second vehicle is the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan, and its
next two vehicles are the Models X and 3 respectively.

Tesla also markets electric powertrain components, including lithium-ion
battery packs to automakers including Daimler and Toyota. Elon has said
that he envisions Tesla as an independent automaker, aimed at eventually
offering electric cars at prices affordable to the average consumer.

Elon is Chairman of SolarCity, the second largest provider of solar
power systems in the United States. Continuing its strong growth, the
United States installed 1,354 megawatts of solar photovoltaics in Q3
2014, up 41 percent over the same period last year. Only 440 megawatts
had been installed in all of 2009 to show how fast this market is
growing.

Learn more at http://lifeboat.com/ex/press.releases.elon.musk.2014.guardian.award.winner

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About Lifeboat Foundation
The Lifeboat Foundation is a nonprofit nongovernmental organization
dedicated to encouraging scientific advancements while helping humanity
survive existential risks and possible misuse of increasingly powerful
technologies, including genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and
robotics/AI, as we move towards the Singularity.

Learn about the world's first bitcoin endowment fund at
https://lifeboat.com/ex/bitcoin

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Lifeboat Foundation News office
1638 Esmeralda Avenue
Minden, NV 89423, USA
+1 775-853-5212
press@lifeboat.com

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