Elon Musk Might Have Said Embrace AI Or Risk Falling Behind, But He Didn't Mean This…

Elon Musk might have previously called to embrace artificial intelligence or risk falling behind, but in a recent statement, he once again highlighted a deeper nuance in his position. 

What Happened: During the weekend, Peter H. Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, took to Twitter and said that in the present circumstances, adopting AI is no longer a mere suggestion but a compelling necessity to stay ahead of the competition, as echoed by the likes of Sundar Pichai and Musk. 

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He quoted Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL CEO stating, “I’ve always thought of A.I. as the most profound technology humanity is working on—more profound than fire or electricity or anything that we’ve done in the past.”

Pichai made this statement in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes in April earlier this year. 

Diamandis also quoted Musk’s 2017 statement, “Because you have companies that are racing — have to be racing — to build AI, or they are going to be made uncompetitive. If your competitor is building an AI and you aren’t, they will crush you.”

The quote is taken from the tech billionaire’s discussion of AI at the bipartisan National Governors Conference on July 15, 2017. 

In response to his tweet, Musk said he didn’t mean to suggest a “headlong rush” into Artificial General Intelligence without considering the potential ramifications. 

Why It’s Important: In March 2023, more than 1000 tech experts, including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, signed an “open letter” calling for an immediate pause in AI developments “more powerful” than OpenAI’s GPT-4 until safety protocols for such designs are created, executed and evaluated by independent experts.

Separately also, Musk has reiterated his statements about having an oversight community formed of independent parties and industry leaders. 

Leaders like Pichai and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are also urging Congress to develop policy frameworks for AI regulations. 

However, despite all the warnings about AI, the developments in the ecosystem don’t seem to be slowing down, as pointed out by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who sold his product to Microsoft Corp MSFT in 2016. 

Hoffman questioned Musk’s intention behind signing the “open letter” when he plans to develop an AI system that seeks maximum truth. 

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