Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink, recently took to Fox News to express his opinion that Google and Open AI, two of the most prominent AI technology companies, pose a threat to “civilizational destruction”. To counter this threat, he announced plans to create a new AI powerhouse called Truth GPT, the aim of which is to “understand the nature of the universe”. Musk also argued for greater government regulation over AI than exists for his automotive and space businesses and explicitly critiqued the strategies of Google and Open AI.
In his interview, Musk presented Google as a monolithic entity, referring to founder Larry Page as a “former friend” with a growing personal ambition to create a “digital God.” Musk was also critical of Open AI, which he originally supported as a non-profit open source platform, but which is now a for-profit organization with Microsoft at the helm.
This past weekend, rumors arose that Musk was up to something; the Wall Street Journal was the first to report that he had established a new company (X Corp, his current holding company for Twitter) in Nevada and Business Insider followed up with reports that Musk had placed a large order for GPUs, critical components of generative AI systems.
Despite arriving “late to the game”, many of the technology advantages Musk currently has access to through his other ventures in SpaceX and Tesla, as well as the brain-computer interface company Neuralink, may give him a fighting chance against his two fierce competitors.
However, there is a side to Elon Musk that not everyone agrees with. He had a role in cutting 80% of Twitter’s staff and has been described as representing a “free speech absolutism”–which can often lead to the promotion of racism, anti-LGBTQ+ abuse, political extremism, colonialism, and even eugenics. Therefore, Musk has his share of detractors, including many within the AI world.
Overall, the jury is still out on Elon Musk’s new venture. His comments on social media, while they should not be dismissed out of hand, may not have been backed up with evidence, and he has been accused of acting as an “inhibited platform” for these hateful ideologies–a point that was highlighted in the interview with Tucker Carlson.
Musk did accept that he prefers an approach that is different from Google and Open AI, but we will have to wait and see if his plans come to fruition and how the landscape of AI technology firms will look once the second part of the interview is aired.
X Corp is the holding company for Elon Musk’s Twitter profile. established in Nevada by Elon Musk in 2020, the company develops high-tech AI solutions and has ambitions to revolutionize the industry. Elon Musk is the CEO and the face of X Corp and he is determined to use the power of AI and machine learning to further the development of human-machine interactions.
Elon Musk is an entrepreneur and engineer best known for founding SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink. As an innovator, he has pushed the boundaries of what is possible and changed the way people use technology and interact with machines. He has been hailed for his leadership in the development and progress of autonomous vehicles, space exploration, and AI technology. Musk has also gained both praise and criticism for his public conflict with the US government and his vocal opinions.
