Elon Musk is planning to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) startup to compete against OpenAI and other tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon in the race to commercialize AI technology. Musk has started to recruit researchers, AI technical experts, and has acquired over 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) for the project. This comes after the billionaire signed a letter that asked for AI creators to pause the training of AI software.
Investors from Tesla and SpaceX have shown interest in Musk’s latest venture, and sources reveal that the project is real. However, the billionaire resigned from OpenAI in 2018 due to “future conflict of interest”. A few months back, OpenAI received a $10 billion investment from Microsoft, much to Musk’s chagrin. He argued that this investment would make OpenAI a “closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft”.
Subsequently, Musk and other AI researchers posted an open letter, in late March, requesting a pause in the training of AI models that are more potent than GPT-4. The letter caused a stir in the AI development industry, with some pushing against the views expressed and some arguing that it misrepresented the problems currently faced.
The Pentagon’s top cyberwarfare officer, Gen. Paul Nakasone, dismissed the calls to suspend training of AI. He argued that AI and machine-learning are some of the most important and lucrative strategies that competitors are using in the modern age, and that these trends should be taken seriously.
Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are some of the big players in the AI-marketplace, with Microsoft investing in OpenAI, Google launching the Bard chatbot in March, and Amazon also releasing AI- focused software to compete against Microsoft and Google.
The necessity for a capable AI software is ever-growing. With the variety of AI-developed technologies being released today, the ability to process data quickly and imaginatively is becoming essential for businesses.
Behind this ever-growing relevance is the genius and hard work of Elon Musk. With his investment in the new AI startup, we may be seeing the development of a completely new and innovative AI-driven system soon. Musk, a successful entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, brings with him a history of success and an eagerness to make an impact on how AI is commercialized.
There’s no doubt that Musk is perfectly placed to create a valuable and capable AI startup, and the results of his project will be kept a close eye on.
