The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society will be "positive", Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey told CNBC on Tuesday, who also offered to help the U.S. government prepare for the impact of the technology if it wasn't prepared.
AI has received a mixed reception in the technology community even as companies strive towards developing it. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for example, has warned of the need for humans to merge with AI in order not to become irrelevant in the future and has founded a company called Neuralink to do just that.
Even Google founder Sergey Brin noted recently that he was "surprised" by the pace of advancements in AI but ultimately welcomed it. Other leaders such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also backed the potential of AI.
Dorsey said that the impact of AI would be "positive" and "additive".
"I think it allows us to give back time to people and to focus on higher leverage jobs … And I think that's really important," Dorsey told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday while launching Square in the U.K.
"I think it gives time back to people to focus on pursuits that are creative and important," he added.
His comments come after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he is not worried about AI replacing jobs for at least 50 to 100 years.
"I think that is so far in the future — in terms of artificial intelligence taking over American jobs — I think we're, like, so far away from that that," said Mnuchin at an event held by Axios last week. "Not even on my radar screen," he added.
The comments were at odds with the technology industry. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, tweeted a picture of Mnuchin's comments next to an article of Amazon making deliveries by drone to show how automation was happening now.
Dorsey appeared unsure when asked by CNBC if the U.S. government was ready to deal with the impact of AI.
"I don't know. I think so, I hope so. But if they (government) are not we are certainly going to help because it is a technology that is important, it is a trend that we need to see more of and it does help people," Dorsey told CNBC.
