Elon Musk's xAI and OpenAI are going head-to-head in the race to create AI that’s smarter than humans

July 31, 2023

Elon Musk is challenging tech CEOs and is now racing against OpenAI to develop artificial intelligence (AI) that surpasses human intelligence.

During a conversation on Twitter Spaces, Musk stated that his new company, xAI, incorporated in March, is definitely competing with OpenAI. He discussed his plans to develop advanced AI, also known as superintelligence. Musk referred to superintelligence as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and emphasised the importance of participating in its development rather than being a mere spectator.

In the course of the 100-minute discussion, which attracted over 1.6 million listeners, Musk outlined his vision for xAI, which involves training superintelligent AI using Twitter data. He emphasised the AI's curiosity and its focus on seeking the truth. He stated: "We don't want a world where one company dominates in AI".

Musk's relationship with OpenAI and Altman has been strained over the years. Initially, Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later parted ways due to differences with the board and Altman.

Also lately, Musk has been expressing his disagreements with other tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg’s newly unveiled Threads social media platform, which mimics Twitter.

OpenAI recently announced the creation of a new software developer team dedicated to controlling superintelligence and ensuring its alignment with human interests. They acknowledged the challenges in steering and preventing a potentially rogue superintelligent AI.

According to OpenAI's co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, while superintelligent AI may seem distant, it could become a reality within the next decade.

Musk and OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, along with other prominent figures in the custom software development world, have been warning about the risks posed by superintelligent AI, which they believe could lead to the extinction of human civilisation, comparable to nuclear war and pandemics.