Musk has stated that his long-awaited generative AI tool is ready for testing and will be released to a small set of testers.
xAI was announced back in July 2023 with the goal “to understand the true nature of the universe” while aiming to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the spat of others that have rushed to the market as the popularity of AI climbs.
Back in 2015, Musk helped to found a small start-up with an open approach to artificial intelligence, serving on its board of directors and even naming the company OpenAI.
In the earliest days, the company was set up as a non-profit and Musk donated millions of dollars to the venture in the hope of encouraging growth in the world of AI.
Musk even offered to run the company but was turned down by the company leaders, including current CEO Sam Altman.
The company and Musk parted ways for good when Altman decided to change the company’s business model and take investment dollars from Microsoft.
Musk has been openly critical of the company since, saying that it “has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.”
Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella dispute this characterization, but there is truth to Musk’s words.
The timing of the xAi’s beta release comes just after Musk, Altman, and many of the AI luminaries took part in the UK’s AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park.
At the summit, Musk curiously told the collected leaders of the world that AI could very well cause the extinction of the human race.
Altman replied, “Elon desperately wants the world to be saved. But only if he can be the one to save it.”
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