Musk Calls for Third AI Force and Hints of Twitter Profitability
There needs to be a third force to rival Google and Microsoft on Artificial Intelligence. That’s the sentiment held by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been vocal against the two tech giants being left to call the shots and steer innovations around the revolutionary technology.
Need for Third AI Force
While Musk has reiterated concerns about the technology’s long-term impact, especially that it can outdo human intelligence, the threat posed by tech giants is a big concern. Likewise, the serial entrepreneur has already created a new company X.AI that he says will focus purely on AI innovation while rivalling the tech giants.
Twitter, one of his biggest assets acquired for $44 billion last year, is expected to be part of the X.AI artificial intelligence push. Tesla, another company that is part of Musk’s portfolio, is already leveraging advanced technology to enhance its self-driving technology. While Musk has had a long history of trying to steer the AI revolution, he has recently needed to catch up with Google and Microsoft calling the shorts.
Microsoft has already invested nearly $10 billion in OpenAI, the parent company behind the AI-powered tool ChatGPT. Moreover, the software giant has already gone to the extent of integrating ChatGPT into its search engine Bing in the race to try and trim Google’s dominance in the search business.
Similarly, Alphabet’s Google is investing big in the revolutionary technology, having already unveiled Bard, its answer to ChatGPT, as it also looks to spearhead the AI race. Amazon is another tech giant that is betting big on Artificial Intelligence as it looks to leverage the technology to enhance its supply and logistics network.
The tech billionaire has been the most aggressive on growing concerns that the technology could be misused. Consequently, he has been calling for more regulation. There are growing concerns that if unregulated, the technology could have serious ramifications, on ending up in the wrong hands. The threat of technology being used to propagate misinformation and fake news is one of the biggest threats.
Twitter Profitability
In addition, Musk has confirmed that Twitter will become profitable in the next few months. The company has been losing funds since 2019, which forced Musk to embark on an aggressive restructuring drive after completing its acquisition last year. After turning around the social network’s fortunes through massive job cuts, among other efforts, Musk is poised to step down from his post as the CEO.
Musk has already settled on Linda Yaccarino, an advertising guru, as the next Twitter’s CEO. While he is expected to remain the executive chairman, he will not be involved in the day to day running of the social network which should see him spending more time at Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk’s involvement with Twitter has not gone well with Tesla investors, most of whom raised concerns that it was distracting him. By hiring a new CEO, he is now expected to focus on the electric vehicle giant facing its fair share of challenges. The company has had to implement big price cuts in a bid to fuel EV demand.
