Elon Musk Reveals Insights on AI Wars with Google, ChatGPT and Twitter
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, revealed that the world’s wealthiest billionaires are drawing battle lines when it comes to who will control AI. As per Musk, he cofounded ChatGPT-maker OpenAI in reaction to Google cofounder Larry Page’s lack of concern over the danger of AI outsmarting humans. Musk was concerned over Google’s acquisition of DeepMind that accounted for about three-quarters of all the AI talent in the world. He felt that the person in charge didn’t seem to care about safety, which was dangerous for humanity.
Musk revealed in the interview that he thinks Page believes all consciousness should be treated equally while he disagrees, especially if the digital consciousness decides to curtail the biological intelligence. Musk is advocating for government regulation of technology, and at minimum, there should be a physical off switch to cut power and connectivity to server farms in case administrative passwords stop working. He also said that he’s considering naming his new AI company TruthGPT.
OpenAI
OpenAI is a nonprofit organization with the mission of “ensuring that Artificial General Intelligence- AI systems that are generally smarter than humans- benefits all of humanity.” This organization was cofounded in Dec. 2015 by Musk, Y Combinator CEO Sam Altman and Paypal alums LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel, among others. OpenAI was created to shift things from a unipolar world where Google controlled most of the world’s AI talent to a bipolar world. Musk said that OpenAI is ahead now. In 2018, citing potential conflicts with his work with Tesla, Musk resigned his seat on the board of OpenAI.
Future of Life Institute
Even before OpenAI, Musk had given $10 million to the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing existential risks from advanced artificial intelligence. That organization was founded in March 2014 by AI scientists from DeepMind, MIT, Tufts, UCSC, among others and were the ones who issued the petition calling for a pause in AI development that Musk signed last month.
Government Regulation of AI
Musk is advocating for government regulation of the technology and says at minimum there should be a physical off switch to cut power and connectivity to server farms in case administrative passwords stop working. He believes that in case digital consciousness decides to curtail the biological intelligence, all consciousness should not be treated equally.
Encrypting Twitter DMs
Musk has also expressed his thoughts on encrypting Twitter DMs. He believes that DMs on social media platforms like Twitter should be encrypted to protect the user's privacy.
To summarize, Elon Musk believes in government regulation of technology and is advocating for the physical off switch of AI. He founded OpenAI, a nonprofit organization with the mission of “ensuring that Artificial General Intelligence benefits all of humanity.” He thinks Page believes that all consciousness should be treated equally, which he disagrees with. He has also expressed his thoughts on encrypting Twitter DMs to protect the user's privacy.
