'I f----ing like humanity, dude': Elon Musk's friendship with then-Google CEO ended over AI: book

Tech moguls Elon Musk and Larry Page's friendship collapsed over their differences on artificial intelligence, according to a new book that outlines how Musk believed that his former friend was too "cavalier" about the technology.

Walter Isaacson’s new book reports how Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, got into a heated debate with Page, then the CEO of Google at Musk’s 2013 birthday party.

Musk is said to have argued that unless safeguards are put in place with artificial intelligence, the systems may replace humans entirely. Page then pushed back, reportedly asking why it would matter if machines surpassed humans in intelligence.

Isaacson’s book lays out how Musk then called human consciousness a precious flicker of light in the universe that shouldn’t be snuffed out. Page is then said to have called Musk "specist."