Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has decided to enter a new industry and challenge the infamous OpenAI. Specifically, he plans to create a rival chatbot platform built by acquiring thousands of processors from NVIDIA and gathering a team of AI researchers and engineers. OpenAI and Musk have a history of working together when the former was just beginning, and Musk has been an vocal investor in the project. However, the two have reportedly become divided due to the former’s idea of how fast AI should progress and how far it should go.
Now, it appears that Musk wants to control the direction and speed of the development of AI, a technology which he himself has called ‘dangerous’. His new venture would give him the power to set the pace of development, and to ensure AI is developed in a way that makes him feel comfortable. It is thought that his goal is as much about ensuring safety and ethical development of AI as it is about challenging OpenAI.
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization created with the mission of promoting artificial general intelligence in a safe, responsible way. Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur and researcher, Sam Altman, and investor, Elon Musk, the organization works to ensure that the development of artificial intelligence is done in an open, transparent and ethical manner. OpenAI publishes research and releases tools to make AI research more available to the public. It also advocates for the responsible development of AI to prevent potential dangers involved with unchecked rapid development.
Elon Musk has made a name for himself by challenging conventions and finding innovative ways of doing things. His efforts are best shown in the success of Tesla and SpaceX, with the former becoming a darling of the stock market despite the current economic crisis. The future of this new AI venture is yet to be determined, but whatever the outcome, it is certain that the tech industry will be watching closely the next chapter of the story of Musk’s involvement with AI.
