'OpenAI, beware': Elon Musk’s vision of AI comes to life, xAI to release its first programme this week

Elon Musk’s xAI is all set to release its own AI programme tomorrow, albeit in a limited capacity. Musk who has had some strong opinions about AI posted on X, announcing that his artificial intelligence company xAI will release its first AI to a select group. “In some important respects, it is the best that currently exists,” the billionaire tech mogul posted.

Tomorrow, @xAI will release its first AI to a select group.

In some important respects, it is the best that currently exists.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 3, 2023

Back in July this year, Elon Musk established his own AI company. At that time, OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT were at the height of their popularity. Musk, who was initially an investor in OpenAI, had warned that the way OpenAI and Microsoft, another investor in the compay, were going about AI without considering the potential dangers of the programme, would spell doom for human civilisation. Musk, who has had some strong opinions on AI for years now, was also among the legion of industrialists, humanitarians and scientists who had warned about the catastrophic effects of AI, if it is allowed to be developed without checks and balances. Elon Musk was initially a big supporter of OpenAI, the organization responsible for creating ChatGPT, the popular language model that’s been making waves in the world of education. It’s been quite a journey, though, because Musk’s connection with the company has soured over time. He’s been openly critical of ChatGPT, claiming it has a liberal bias. In February, he even mentioned his wish for a model like “TruthGPT” and raised concerns about how closely ChatGPT works with Microsoft and its operations. “Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk posted, back in July when announced the creation of xAI.

Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2023

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Details regarding the funding, specific objectives, and focus of xAI on artificial intelligence remain unclear at this point. However, the company’s website states that its goal is to comprehend the true essence of the universe. During an X Spaces event that was organised after the xAI announcement, Elon Musk shared his strategy for creating a safer AI. Instead of relying on directly programming morality into the AI, xAI’s approach is to make the AI as curious as possible. Musk believes that by encouraging AI to deeply explore the fundamental aspects of the universe, it will naturally prioritize actions that benefit humanity. He stressed the intrinsic value and fascination of human life, considering it to be of paramount importance. In Musk’s words, “If it tried to understand the true nature of the universe, that’s actually the best thing that I can come up with from an AI safety standpoint. I think it is going to be pro-humanity from the standpoint that humanity is just much more interesting than not-humanity.”