Elon Musk on Monday offered new details about his much-rumored ChatGPT rival — an AI platform he dubbed TruthGPT that’s aimed at challenging offerings from Microsoft and Google.
“I’m going to start something which I call ‘Truth GPT’ or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe,” Musk said Monday evening during an interview on Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight.
He said TruthGPT “might be the best path to safety, in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe, it is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe.”
The billionaire tech entrepreneur had reportedly approached AI researchers in recent months about developing an alternative to ChatGPT, the high-profile chatbot made by OpenAI. It was revealed last week that Musk has created an artificial intelligence company called X.AI headquartered in Nevada.
These moves came just before Musk signed an open letter urging labs to take at least a six-month pause in AI development due to “profound risks” to society from increasingly capable AI engines.
Musk’s entry into the burgeoning AI market comes after the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November. The chatbot, built on a powerful AI engine, can write software, hold conversations and compose poetry. Microsoft quickly expanded its partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, integrating the tech into its Bing search engine. Not to be outdone, Google released Bard, its own AI conversation engine, although it stumbled at the launch.
Still, not all AI chatbots are built the same. CNET put those early generative AI models to the test, comparing their responses to determine which is the most helpful. CNET’s Imad Khan found that ChatGPT turned in the best results, producing responses that feel more humanlike than those of Bing and especially Bard.
During the interview, Musk also reiterated his longstanding concerns of the possible destructive power of artificial intelligence, saying “AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production.
“It has the potential — however small one may regard that probability, but it is non-trivial — it has the potential of civilizational destruction,” he said.
During an interview in 2014, Musk voiced similar concerns about how quickly AI is advancing, worrying its utility function “could be something that’s detrimental to humanity.”
Musk has dabbled in AI before. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI — the company he now seeks to challenge. He served as its chairman until 2018 when he stepped down, amid concerns about a conflict of interest. Musk has since cut ties with OpenAI.
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