13-7-2023 (SAN FRANCISCO) Elon Musk has unveiled his own artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, as he aims to compete with OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT. Musk has criticized OpenAI, accusing its program of being politically biased and irresponsible.
According to the xAI website, the Tesla CEO will run the company separately from his other ventures, but the technology developed will benefit his businesses, including Twitter.
The stated goal of xAI is to “understand the true nature of the universe,” as mentioned on the website.
On Twitter, Musk further explained that the aim of his new company is to “understand reality” and tackle life’s most significant questions.
xAI has assembled a team of former researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Tesla, and the University of Toronto.
The company will receive guidance from Dr. Dan Hendrycks, who currently leads the Centre for AI Safety, an organization in San Francisco that warns against the rapid development of AI.
Dr. Hendrycks was also involved in an open letter to global leaders in June, which cautioned about the risks of AI, comparing it to threats such as pandemics and nuclear war.
Musk has repeatedly expressed concerns about the dangers of AI, referring to it as “our biggest existential threat.” He believes that progress in AI must be approached cautiously, warning against moving too quickly.
In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI as a response to what he perceived as Google’s reckless pursuit of AI advancements. However, he left the organization in 2018 to focus on his role at Tesla, citing discomfort with OpenAI’s profit-driven direction under CEO Sam Altman.
Musk has also criticized OpenAI’s large language models, including ChatGPT, for being overly politically correct.
In an interview with Fox News in April, Musk discussed his plans for a new AI tool called “TruthGPT.” He acknowledged that launching his own AI company comes late in the game compared to OpenAI and Google DeepMind but expressed his desire to create a third viable option.
Establishing an AI company on the scale of OpenAI or Google DeepMind requires significant resources, particularly in terms of the necessary semiconductors, or GPUs, predominantly manufactured by California-based company Nvidia.
