Elon Musk, Twitter’s not-so-benevolent CEO, at present introduced the launch of a brand new group, xAI, to “perceive the true nature of the universe.”
Formidable? Just a little. So how does xAI plan to attain it? Extra particulars shall be introduced throughout a Twitter Areas on Friday, apparently. However xAI’s splash web page reveals that the crew — 12 individuals sturdy, at present — shall be led by Musk and veterans of DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Analysis, Microsoft Analysis, Tesla and the College of Toronto.
xAI shall be suggested by Dan Hendrycks, director on the Middle for AI Security, an AI analysis nonprofit. And it’ll work with Twitter and Musk’s different firm, Tesla, to “make progress in direction of [its] mission” — no matter that mission finally ends up being.
Whereas Musk’s saving the juicy tidbits for Friday, xAI’s roster provides some clues as to what the group’s work would possibly entail. Most of the founding members focus on giant language fashions alongside the strains of OpenAI’s GPT-4 or have expertise in strategies like reinforcement studying, which “teaches” AI fashions to perform duties by rewarding them for performing these duties.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson in April, Musk stated that he needed to construct what he known as “TruthGPT,” a “maximum-truth-seeking AI.” Probably, xAI’s efforts will begin there, maybe taking the type of a text-generating AI that Musk perceives as extra “truthful” than present ones; Musk has beforehand urged that Twitter would use its personal information to coach ChatGPT-like tech.
Rumors about Musk beginning up an AI firm have been floating round for a while, with a report earlier this year from Business Insider revealing that Musk had bought hundreds of GPUs to energy an upcoming generative AI product. The Financial Times similarly reported that Musk deliberate to create an AI agency to compete with the Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Musk even reportedly sought funding from SpaceX and Tesla buyers to get the corporate began.
xAI’s namesake is X Corp, the identify assigned to Twitter since early April, together with the “X” label Musk has utilized to his imaginative and prescient of an “all the pieces app.”
Musk’s AI ambitions have grown through the years for the reason that billionaire’s cut up with OpenAI founders Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever and others. Based as a nonprofit in 2015, OpenAI took on $1 billion in donations from Musk and others.
However as OpenAI’s focus shifted from open supply analysis to business tasks, Musk grew disillusioned — and aggressive. He poached key staff from OpenAI to work on Autopilot, Tesla’s driver help tech. And he turned overtly important of OpenAI, referring to it as a “profit-maximizing demon from hell.”
Musk resigned from the OpenAI board in 2018. And extra just lately, he reduce off the corporate’s entry to Twitter information, arguing that OpenAI, which had a $2-million-a-year licensing take care of Twitter, wasn’t paying sufficient.
